Chapter 26: Land of Dragons: Intruders and Shadows

Sora found Toshiro at the checkpoint resting against one of the walls, Hyorinmaru in his lap.

"Don't tell me he fell asleep in the cold." Mushu snorted in disbelief, careful not to peek out too much.

"I don't know what he's doing." Sora shrugged. "When I first met him he was doing that too, never told me what it was."

They approached him but he did not stir. For all they could tell, he did seem to be asleep. Only his meditative position seemed rather uncomfortable to sleep in.

"Hey, Captain." Goofy said, hoping it would stir the usually alert Soul Reaper.

"Hang on, I got this." Mushu, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to figure out the sword spirit, jumped down and reached a scaly paw out towards the long blade.

He managed to touch the blade long enough to see a quick image of the ice dragon inside, wings spread as he roared defiantly at the intruder, before Toshiro snapped out of his inner World and pushed the dragon to the ground with the back of his blade before the others realized he'd moved. It took them another moment to realize that their dragon friend was currently pinned to the ground.

"W-Whoa, hey now." Mushu shivered even though the razor sharp edge was turned away. He knew Toshiro had enough strength to crush his thin throat even with the flat side.

"Captain, he was just trying to wake you up." Sora pleaded.

"A guardian has no business inside someone's Inner World." Toshiro snapped, looking rather furious with Mushu for something they didn't understand. "I know you've been watching me, dragon, to figure out what I am. If I wanted it to be known I would have said so."

"Really sorry, man!" Mushu whined.

"Don't make such a mistake again." Toshiro released the dragon before standing and walking away quickly to cool off.

Mushu immediately scrambled up Mulan's armor and hid inside where she could feel him shivering with fright.

"Gawrsh, what do you think Captain Hitsugaya meant by that?" Goofy turned to the others, worried.

"Mushu, what did you do to make him so mad?" Sora attempted to coax the dragon out of the armor with Mulan's help.

There was no reply at first and they were unable to make him move. Eventually they gave up with a sigh and went to make camp for the night. The trek up the mountain had tired them all out and everyone was settling in anyway.

"I'll go find Toshiro." Sora said to them once they'd found their resting spot. "Need to make sure he's okay. Maybe I can ask him what happened."

"Be careful, Sora." Donald warned.

Giving the duck a nod, the Keybearer left to search the town for his white haired companion.

In the dark the snow seemed to hold a pale glow that gave Sora goose bumps, and the wind was harsh. He thanked the fairies for his special clothes that kept him warm despite the weather and hoped Toshiro was still able to resist such dreadfully low temperatures. He called out the Soul Reaper's name several times and hoped for him to appear suddenly as he had a tendency to do, even using his first name occasionally. When he got no reply he began to worry.

When he scaled one of the buildings to get a higher view, he was surprised to find his friend on that very roof, gaze turned up to the sky.

"How many times must I tell you to call me Hitsugaya?" Toshiro said without turning.

"Come on, you didn't answer me." Sora groaned. "I was worried sick."

Sitting next to the boy, Sora prepared himself for the lecture he was sure to get for what he planned on asking next.

"You want to know what happened when Mushu attempted to wake me." Toshiro said before Sora had the chance to speak.

"Uh…yeah, actually. How did you know?"

"Because that's something I would do." Toshiro finally turned away from the sky. "You're a little predictable, Sora."

"Hey!"

Shaking his head and smirking slightly, Hitsugaya wondered how to explain why he'd threatened the guardian.

"I assume I haven't told you yet about where the spirit in our zanpaktous reside?" He questioned first.

"I don't think so…I thought it was in the sword?"

"Yes and no." Toshiro saw Sora glance at him funnily and sighed. "The spirit in our zanpaktou is a part of us, so Hyorinmaru is a part of my soul. Over time a Soul Reaper learns to hear that inner voice as they train, and the spirit is formed within a sword as an extension of that Soul Reaper's soul. The place where that spirit resides lies deep within our soul called the Inner World. Everyone's is different depending on what kind of power they have."

"So Mushu somehow got in there?" Sora asked.

"Yes. Normally something like that is impossible, but there are certain times where one's Inner World can be invaded. Such a thing is dangerous as it could damage the soul of the one who's being invaded, as well as pose a risk to the invader if they become trapped. There was once a zanpaktou with the power to control other zanpaktous by invading their world and binding them to him. It ended up being disastrous and put the Soul Society at risk."

"Gee…but Mushu didn't know that."

"I know, I simply overreacted, which is why I left. As a guardian I assumed he might know something about Soul Reapers, more so since he traveled worlds with you. I did not expect him to try something like that, however, and was caught off guard."

"Ya know, you scared him pretty badly."

"Good, now he knows what it means to pry too far." Toshiro stood. "His nosiness will get him in trouble. Come on, let's go back."

"Right."

Together they returned to the snow covered ground and headed back towards where the others were, Sora noticing Hitsugaya tighten the scarf around his neck. It seemed he'd reached the limit of how much cold he could stand before it started to affect him. He'd have Donald cast the spell later.

Sora greeted the others with his same general cheeriness while Toshiro kept to the side and quiet, doing his usual night watch. It seemed like he never slept.

When morning came, though, they did indeed find him asleep. He was leaning up against the wall and breathing softly, his breath coming out in white puffs that looked like the breath of a dragon.

"He looks kinda cute when he sleeps." Goofy grinned, pointing out the childish pout on the ice Captain's face as he slept on.

"Not as dangerous now, is he?" Sora snickered before he stood and brushed himself off. "He hasn't slept in a few days, let's leave him here to rest and check out what's going on."

"Sure thing." Donald stretched his wings before following Goofy and Sora outside, Mulan quickly fixing her hair back into the top knot and putting on her armor before following them out as well.

While the four friends went around helping with the small things for now, Toshiro continued to sleep until his stomach woke him up. It was then he realized he hadn't eaten in a while.

"Didn't even bother to wake me up." He grumbled upon noticing the absence of the others.

Stifling a yawn with his hand, the Soul Reaper grabbed his sword and walked outside, latching onto Sora's Spirit Energy and heading that way. Since the Keybearer was in town he took it upon himself to grab some food first before meeting him.

The four of them were facing Mushu as he said something and Toshiro remained hidden in the shadows.

"I saw this real shady guy." He was saying. "I know it has to be Shan-Yu."

"Shan-Yu!" Mulan gasped.

"We've got to tell the Captain!"

"Which one?" Donald turned to the Keybearer.

"Uh…I meant Toshiro, but we should tell Shang too."

"Waaait-wait-wait-wait-WAIT!" Mushu stopped them before they could look for the two people named. "Everybody use their heads a sec. Now, why are we here?"

The trio thought about it.

"To make Captain Shang notice Mulan's…I mean, Ping's talent and bring honor to her family! Can't do that if either Captain is there to help her. So, let's go find Shan-Yu by ourselves! Then, if we're lucky, we can fry him up good!"

"I suppose tracking him down would be enough." Toshiro commented, making them all jump. He was leaning casually on the wall now. "Considering how Shan-Yu seems to be viewed, simply finding him would give Mulan quite a bit of respect. However, I don't think Shan-Yu is the one you saw. No self-respecting leader would allow himself to be seen so close to his enemy's checkpoint, he'd send in a decoy."

Mushu said nothing, only scrambled back up to peek his head out of Mulan's armor, glancing at him wearily.

"I think we should at least check it out, Captain." Mulan suggested.

"I suppose. You four go, I'll remain with the town just in case he was a decoy."

"Thanks, Hitsugaya." Sora bowed his head to him. "So Mushu, where is he?"

"In the cave outside the village." The dragon replied quietly.

Toshiro frowned at that but said nothing, thinking a hidden cave was just the kind of place to trap the four people in while taking out the town. He was definitely staying here while they figured out if Shan-Yu was in the cave or not. But if he was, could he be sure he wouldn't have a Heartless with him?

"Sora." He called out as they began to walk away.

When the boy turned, Toshiro held his hand out in a familiar manner and Sora obliged, bringing the Keyblade to hand and letting the white haired child hold onto it.

"Be careful, Sora. I have a bad feeling about that cave." He said quietly.

"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" The Keybearer tilted his head to the side.

"The feeling I have is the same reason I'm staying put. Someone's drawing the strongest of us away to wreck this village and make it look like it's our fault. If I stay I can hopefully put a stop to that plan." After a good thirty seconds, he let go of the blade and Sora left with Frozen Heavens in hand.

With the four of them gone, Toshiro found it rather quiet in the camp. Not to mention he was still getting odd looks from the Chinese soldiers and Shang was still attempting to pressure answers out of him with silent glares. Ignoring all of these, Toshiro kept quiet and stood alert for the slightest change in the darkness. Since he remained, Shan-Yu would certainly come up with something to get him out of town.

'The organization might be working with him, they might send in their Soul Reaper.' Hyorinmaru warned.

'Yes, they might. If not the Nobodies then definitely the Heartless. They are attracted to people with the most darkness in their heart.'

'Remain alert.'

Something stirred outside the village and Toshiro moved towards it quickly.

'Didn't have to wait very long, it seems.' He growled, reaching for the hilt of his sword. The other soldiers seemed to get the message and became tense, Shang wondering what it was the Japanese boy had found.

And then darkness descended upon the village.

Mushu, stop being so nosy. Well, the dragons had gotten off to a bad start, now it's worse T^T at least Toshiro is willing to put it aside. As for this mysterious figure, he figured out pretty quickly that it was just a distraction, but can he save the village? Am I already introducing a drastic change in script? Does he become China's Hero and not Mulan? To the next chapter XD Enjoy!