"I had a dream about an icy plain…
It felt like everything around me was ice…
As if it were about to crush me…
To completely wrap me up…
I heard voices… and echoes…
Rumbling in the distance, like thunder…
I don't know when it started, but I've been having this strange dream over and over again…
I'm powerless—yet I always feel that something mysterious is hidden deep within that frozen plain, restlessly stirring…
What is it…?
What exactly is there?"
A silver-haired boy slowly awoke from his sleep.
The moment he opened his eyes, Hinamori Momo's smiling face filled his emerald-green pupils.
"Ohayō, Shiro!" Hinamori said cheerfully.
"Hey… you're way too close," the boy known as "Shiro" yawned as he sat up, grumbling softly.
"Don't call me that—call me Tōshirō."
"Okay, okay~ When you grow up, I'll call you 'Little Shirō' instead!"
Hinamori hurriedly handed Hitsugaya Tōshirō a simple bento box.
"Eat up quickly!"
Then she dashed toward the door.
"Hey—today's not even a weekend! Where are you going now?"
Tōshirō didn't even glance at the bento, calling out sharply as he watched her.
"Hoko invited me to her place to practice calligraphy. I might be back late today—take good care of Grandma, okay?"
As she ran, Hinamori suddenly turned back and waved.
"If you get bored, Shiro, go play with Tatsuki and Ayumi next door! See you later~"
"Tch… Playing with little kids is even more boring,"
Tōshirō muttered as he lay back down and drifted off again.
Before long, however, he was woken by excited voices from next door.
"Wow, Tatsuki! Who's that handsome big brother walking over there?!"
"Huh? Looks like—wait, what?! It's a Shinigami!!"
"What?! Ayumi, are Shinigami really like that?!"
"Yeah, yeah! That's definitely a Shinigami! I've seen them a few times on the street before!
Even though he's not wearing a shihakushō, I recognize those two swords—they're called Zanpakutō!"
"Wow! No wonder Momo wants to go to Shinigami Academy—Shinigami really do look amazing!!"
Hearing this, Tōshirō couldn't help sticking a finger into his ear, scoffing disdainfully.
"Tch—what's so amazing about Shinigami?"
"There's nothing amazing about Shinigami.
But if you're not even one, what right do you have to say that, Shiro?"
A strange voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Tōshirō stiffened and quickly sat up on the worn tatami mat, turning to look at the speaker.
The man looked young—about twenty years old by living-world standards.
He had refined features and an appearance that naturally put people at ease.
Beneath his jet-black, Kusanagi-style slanted bangs, his dark eyes shone like the brightest stars in the night sky.
He wore a black short-sleeved top and dark-blue trousers, over which was draped a pristine white, flame-like short-sleeved haori.
What struck Tōshirō as especially strange was that the man carried two Zanpakutō at his waist, bound by a red sword sash—one long, one short.
Their design was archaic, with guards shaped like flowing golden clouds, both beautiful and oddly unsettling.
"Who are you?"
After studying the black-haired swordsman for some time, Tōshirō finally asked.
"A Shinigami from the Shino Academy's Special Advancement Class.
My name is Fūjin Taichi."
Fūjin Taichi sat down beside Tōshirō and placed a burlap sack he'd been carrying onto the floor.
With a thud-thud, several large, jade-green watermelons rolled out.
"Hey—who said you could sit down?!"
Tōshirō shot a sideways glance at the round watermelons and snapped.
"Come on, Shiro. I brought you watermelon—what's wrong with letting me sit for a bit?"
"Why would you bring me watermelon for no reason?!
And my name is NOT 'Shiro'! You're way too familiar for a stranger!!"
Tōshirō shouted angrily.
"Oh, being warm and approachable is just one of my many virtues,"
Taichi said calmly, stretching out his right hand and placing it atop Tōshirō's head.
With great seriousness, he declared:
"Shiro—become a Shinigami."
"…What?"
"You've felt it, haven't you?"
"In a freezing ice field, a voice full of malice keeps calling to you—luring you to find it."
"…Mm."
"That's your Zanpakutō awakening—'Dumbledore'."
"It will take the form of an evil, grotesque ice dragon and charge straight at you—freezing the entire Soul Society—"
"If you don't control that power, your grandmother, your neighbors—
even Hinamori Momo—will die by your own hand!!"
"W-What?! Are you spouting nonsense?!"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō almost believed Fūjin Taichi's serious-faced absurdities.
"Haven't you noticed your grandma growing more and more worn down?
Haven't you noticed that the two little brats next door won't even play 'mud pie' with you anymore?"
"…M-Maybe that is true—
Wait, who would want to play something like 'mud pie' anyway?!!"
Hitsugaya felt like his lungs were about to explode with anger.
Who the hell is this guy? Why did he suddenly show up and start saying all this weird stuff?!
"…Alright then,"
Fūjin Taichi withdrew his gaze and looked up at the deep blue sky overhead.
"Let me ask you a question."
"What?"
"If Hinamori Momo were in mortal danger, what would you do?"
"Huh?! Whoever dared hurt her, I'd—!"
"You'd what?"
"You'd use those nice teeth of yours to bite the bully to death—"
"..."
"And what if the one hurting her was a Menos?"
"Would you stand there helplessly, watching Hinamori Momo get eaten bit by bit—like a snack for a Hollow?"
"Tch… Those are things that would never happen!"
Hitsugaya said it aloud—but in his mind, that helpless feeling from his dreams resurfaced, sending a chill through his heart.
If it were real… would I really be able to do nothing but watch?
"Shiro, you can hear that voice already, can't you?"
Fūjin Taichi said solemnly, reaching out again to ruffle Hitsugaya's hair—only for Hitsugaya to dodge with an expression of pure disgust.
"Only by becoming a Shinigami can you find where that voice comes from,
control your power,
and protect everyone you want to protect."
Fūjin Taichi stood up and slowly walked toward the door, leaving Hitsugaya with one final, firm declaration:
"Shiro—this is the last time I'll say it.
With great power comes great responsibility.
So… become a Shinigami."
"..."
Watching Taichi's back as he left, Hitsugaya unconsciously furrowed his silver brows, fists clenched tightly.
Become a Shinigami… I understand now…
...
After leaving Hitsugaya Tōshirō's dilapidated home,
Fūjin Taichi returned to the main street of Junrinan District.
He casually hailed a rickshaw and said to the driver,
"Seireitei."
"Yes, sir! Please hold tight, Shinigami-sama!"
The driver answered and immediately began pulling the rickshaw toward the nearest western gate of Seireitei.
Since Junrinan was the West Rukongai – First District, where security and living conditions were relatively good, the driver reached the Western Gate without incident.
He stopped the rickshaw about two hundred meters away, then smiled obsequiously at Taichi.
"Shinigami-sama, Seireitei is just ahead.
Common folk like me aren't allowed to go any farther, so please—"
"Mm. Thanks for your trouble."
Taichi paid the fare and walked the remaining hundred meters on foot.
Suddenly, in a place where there had been nothing at all,
a towering wall materialized before him.
This wall was normally invisible—
only revealing itself when outside souls or intruders attempted to enter.
Moreover, all four walls were constructed from Sekki-seki,
a special stone capable of blocking spiritual energy.
It emitted an energy that broke down reiryoku, forming an invisible spherical barrier that protected Seireitei from all directions.
Furthermore, at the four cardinal points of these Sekki-seki walls stood the four Great Gates: the Blue Stream Gate (Shōryūmon), the White Road Gate (Hakutōmon), the Red Hollow Gate (Shuwaimon), and the Black Ridge Gate (Kokuryōmon).
The guards stationed at each gate were legendary powerhouses of Soul Society—
from east to north respectively: Kaiwan, Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, Higonyūdō, and Danzōmaru!