Soifon soon found that talking to Isshin-san taicho was possibly not the best idea. The person who ended up lecturing someone ended up being the young lieutenant, when he found out what the captain and third seat of the tenth division had been up to, and his retort had been that they were quite childish for doing something like this. Soifon could feel her eyebrow twitch with annoyance.

"Why is it that you two suddenly decided to add a folding screen doors in-between the three rooms!" Toshiro suddenly snapped, his two teal eyes livid with rage as he glared at the two.

"What exactly is the importance to these three rooms exactly?" Soifon muttered, her headache coming on. She had forgotten that she disliked Isshin-san taicho as much as she had Ukitake, and for similar reasons.

"Uhh… they are living quarters," Matsumoto commented. "They are mine, taicho's and our seconds…"

"But why do they need to be connected?" Soifon sighed. "I can't see this actually working to any good."

"Agreed…" Toshiro muttered, folding his arms, his face suddenly trying to look like a stern grownup, but coming from a child, Matsumoto suddenly couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Matsumoto…"

"Gomen… I forgot," Matsumoto though continued to chuckle.

"Toshiro… you remember what happened last night, right? This way you have more privacy, right?" Isshin suddenly piped up, a smile on his face.

"Privacy? I would call this an invasion of my privacy!" Toshiro suddenly snapped. "I am not to be treated like a child!"

The small boy turned and stormed off, Soifon glaring at all three. Isshin raised an eyebrow at her. "What is the cat flash masters protégée doing here?"

"I would rather not talk about her," Soifon snapped, remembering the other reason that she didn't like the man. "I have to agree with your sub-taicho… this is an invasion of privacy."

"Well… if you knew about the incident last night, you would understand more," Isshin sighed.

"Would I?" Soifon glared at the man.

"Shiro-chan has the habit of sleeping on the roof above my room. He has… I guess he has loyalties to me similar to those that you had for her… but slightly different," Isshin stated calmly, folding his arms across his chest. "Last night it rained and he was waken up before I could go and put him back in his room, so he ended up in my room last night, soaking wet."

"Why not just send him to go and get changed in his room," Soifon sighed.

"Because I can't trust him not to be stubborn about it, plus he was still half asleep. He found the situation of having to sleep in my room last night to be rather embarrassing, so I devised this idea so that he won't have to worry about that. He'll come around eventually," Isshin sighed.

"Hey… what is it that you did come here for?" Matsumoto asked quite chipper, annoying Soifon.

"Well… did you know that your second is trying to achieve Bankai?" Soifon suddenly asked.

"Toshiro-kun is trying to achieve Bankai?" Matsumoto suddenly asked, confusion on her face. "Is he ready for that yet? I mean, with all that has happened…"

"I believe that he is more then ready to achieve Bankai, Matsumoto," Isshin stated. "I am also not the only one who believes so."

"Him… that child?" Soifon folded her arms. "I should have known that this absurdity was your doing, I thought it was all his."

"Toshiro is physically a child, but he has the mindset of an adult, Soifon," Isshin suddenly sighed, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the young woman. "He'll be fine… really, he will."

"I am sure that he won't reach it in five years," the taicho muttered, causing Isshin to raise an eyebrow.

"Did you happen to say something like that to him?' Isshin stated firmly.

"Yes…"

"Hitsugaya-kun will see it as a challenge…" Matsumoto sighed.

"I will go look for him," the tenth division taicho shook his head. "He's bound to forget his limits…"

M

However, Toshiro had figured out in his mind, a place where he would not be found, the place that he had achieved Shikai. He had thought that this was the place to go and achieve Bankai, but found that it was not so, it was cold and after three days, his stomach was grumbling.

"Tell me… little one," Hyorinmaru stated patiently. "Have you found your reason for reaching Bankai?"

"I have, yet I haven't… I am not sure if they are reasons that would justify you letting me," came the small boy's response.

"So… you need my approval of your reasons?" the dragon hummed.

"I think that is part of what I need to do," Hitsugaya closed his eyes, enjoying going to his inner world.

"Then tell me your thoughts little one," again came the humming, slightly roaring sound.

"I am afraid of hurting those around me and seeing them hurt," came the small boys reply. "But no one trusts me to be able to take care of myself, so how can I be trusted with their lives? I almost killed grandmother because I had no control, so… I figure that if I had control… control to perform Bankai… never mind. I hate being treated like a child."

"Need I remind you, you are one? More intelligent than a good deal of adults, but a child none the less?" the dragon sighed suddenly.

"Hyorinmaru… does anyone respect me?" Toshiro suddenly became sullen.

"Depends on what you mean by respect. I respect Hitsugaya Toshiro, and I see others respecting you, in different ways. You are a special someone… however, I don't think that you are physically ready for Bankai. Mentally… yes, but your body…" Hyorinmaru paused. "Do you think I've been holding off on you because you think that I think of you as a child?"

"I never thought that… never…" the boy found his voice stammering.

"No… it never crossed your thoughts except subconsciously. Yes, the physical part has to do with the fact that you are still a child. I think it would not be a good thing to learn just yet… but if you really insist…"

"You didn't care about my reasons?" Toshiro became suspicious suddenly.

"Hitsugaya… I have always seen your reasons. There is not one shred of narcissism in your body. Your ego is easily trashed and you take things to hard on yourself, and blame yourself. So… I think allowing you to achieve Bankai might be a good lesson for you… now that I think of it,"

There was a moment of silence as the small boy was confused at first. "What do I have to learn?"

"I'll explain later… later…" Hyorinmaru. "But I will tell you, it may seem like a lesson of humility, but that is not what it is meant to be. Now… head over to the twelfth division. That is the best place, as your Bankai is… well… to put it lightly, it would destroy this cave and cause damage to someplace not wide open."

Toshiro nodded his head. When he came to the twelfth division, he didn't know that he was being watched in different ways. There was a pair of eyes that had followed him to the cave, an eye that had a photographic memory, and an eye that had been reaching out for his reiatsu for three days, trying to find him.

"Meditate… Toshiro… standing up," the Dragon hummed. "Hold your sword out straight up and down."

Toshiro did as he was told, and listened carefully with his senses, much as Kaien had taught him. To his surprise, he could feel snow coming around him, then the forming of ice at his feet, crackling as it grew away from him.

"Now… open your eyes and stick me out to your side and call out my name child. Let me manifest in front of you."

"Hyorinmaru!" Toshiro stated as he moved. He glanced slightly to the left and found his zanpaktou disappear from his side, into a sprinkling of an ice into the blackness around him. It then formed into a dragon. Toshiro's eyes became wide. "Hyorinmaru…"

"Surprised?" the dragon laughed.

"Not really. I thought that zanpaktou could be heard… differently…" the boy tilted his head.

"I am not like most zanpaktou, and you are not like most shingami. I can speak both with my mouth and the way I am, through your mind. We are that well connected. The phrase for your Bankai is 'Daiguren Hyorinmaru'. Now use it…" the dragon chuckled.

"This is to easy…" Toshiro suddenly glared at the dragon.

"You'll find that while finding your Bankai is simpler then perhaps others, there is a complexity to this one… well, I would rather not tell, as you need to learn from experience…" the dragon almost seemed to smile.

Toshiro closed his eyes. "Daiguren Hyorinmaru…"

This caused him to suddenly be surrounded, almost as if by a wind, as Hyorinmaru moved about him. He felt the claws form on his feet and left arm, while he happened to feel a dragon head form over his arm. To his surprise, he also felt wings form on his back. "You've always wanted to fly Toshiro… eventually… you will be able too…"

"What do you mean by eventually," the small boy commented, only to suddenly find his reiatsu leaking from his body, his strength quickly leaving him. He also then noticed that some ice petals had formed behind his back and that they were quickly disappearing, which caused his eyes to grow wide, only to suddenly fall forward unconscious as the last one disappeared on him. His body fell with a crunch into the ice at his feet.