Silver Snowflower

By Spunky0ne

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Toshiro gets the surprise of a lifetime when his body begins to resonate with that of a thought-to-be-dead Gin. Byakuya's research of the matter reveals something astonishing about Gin that will impact all of Soul Society…yaoi, mpreg…Gin/Toshiro, Kenpachi/Byakuya,

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Chapter 1: The Calling

"Are you feeling all right, Taicho?" Rangiku asked, looking over at her scowling leader, who hunched slightly as he sat at his desk, poring over a mission report, "Your face is a kinda flushed and you look like you can't sit still. Are you feeling all right?"

"Am I feeling all right?" he repeated, "No, not really. You should be doing this report, not me. And besides, the way things are, I don't know how anyone would feel all right."

Rangiku's fingers tapped lightly on her cheek as she frowned, trying to understand. Toshiro's scowl deepened.

"Come on, I think you know what I mean," he said shortly, "We were just briefed on the situation a short time ago."

Rangiku thought for a moment longer, then her pretty face registered comprehension.

"Oh, that!" she acknowledged, "You mean about the…"

"Shh!" he hushed her, waving her words off with strident hands, "That is not to be repeated."

The red-haired fukutaicho crossed her arms and frowned back at him.

"Well, then maybe if we shouldn't be talking about it, you shouldn't be bringing it up," she suggested, giving him a meaningful look.

"Eh, you asked what was wrong with me," he complained, "What was I supposed to say? It's not like I revealed anything really."

"It is pretty scary," Rangiku mused, looking up at the ceiling as though she was looking through it to the skies above them, "knowing about that."

Toshiro followed the path of her eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed in a lower voice, "it is."

He sighed more deeply and raised a privacy barrier around them. Rangiku watched and tilted her head slightly in askance.

"Well, if you're going to bring it up and you want to talk about it, it's best to make sure no one hears."

"Right," she agreed, "You know, I keep having dreams about Ywach coming to life again."

"That's reasonable, given the circumstances," Toshiro acknowledged, "He is radiating that powerful reiatsu even though he's dead."

"So, how do they know he's really dead?" Rangiku said anxiously.

Toshiro shrugged.

"I guess Squad Zero can tell," he said uncertainly, "I hope they're right. But anyway, they said that they were going to try to do something about that situation."

"Oh, that's right," Rangiku said, perking up a little, "They were looking for some old artifact, weren't they?"

"The king's prism," Toshiro provided, "It's a crystal prism that is said to contain the souls of the past kings and their consorts. The king's prism was used to reincarnate the king whenever his spirit needed renewal or if he was killed. Kuchiki researched it in his family archive, and he revealed to us that as the last king died, he threw the king's prism into the soul well where he stores all of the souls that he creates to go to Soul Society. Someone may have been born with the prism attached to his or her soul. If so, we need to figure out who it is."

"Well," Rangiku said, considering, "since the king was just killed in the war, that person wouldn't be born yet, right? Or maybe they were just born?"

Toshiro shook his head.

"You forget," he corrected her, "The king that Ywach is responsible for killing wasn't the real king. He was just an imposter, the quincy king before Ywach, who tried to steal the throne in the war a thousand years ago. He was not killed, but he was badly injured as he killed the rightful king. He was overpowered by our forces, so to escape death, he agreed to imprisonment and to keeping the balance of souls. The king's prism, if it still exists, would have been sent into the soul well around a thousand years ago, and there is no telling when it might have attached itself to a soul. I assume that would be a matter of fate."

"Yeah, that's a hell of a fate, isn't it? How does the prism get out? Does it just take over the person? Does the person have to die or something? That's kinda creepy."

"Very creepy," Toshiro agreed, shaking his head and mussing his white hair, "The whole story isn't known, but it indicates that there would be someone chosen to do something with the prism and that's how a new king would emerge. Byakuya is still looking for more details, but it's hard to find much on that…which makes sense, because the knowledge would need to be kept from the enemies of the king, who wouldn't want there to be a rebirth."

"You mean the quincies?" Rangiku asked, "But haven't they been pretty much neutralized?"

"For the moment," Toshiro admitted, "Ywach, himself, finished off what Sternritters were left, so there aren't many powerful quincies, and the ones who survived retreated to the shadows. However, you know that there is a quincy left who is not only powerful enough to succeed Ywach, he is Ywach's named successor. I'm actually surprised that Central 46 didn't do anything to contain him. Even though he abdicated the position and went back to the living world, it is possible that he could someday try to retrieve the remaining power in Ywach's body. After all, he is Kurosaki's boyfriend, and Ichigo would probably be able to get him into the royal realm if he was convinced it was right to do so."

"If Ichigo and Uryu knew that Ywach's dead body was being kept there and used to keep the soul balance," Rangiku concluded, "That's probably why Central 46 isn't letting anyone but the taichos and fukutaichos in on it, and they've sworn everyone to secrecy about the whole thing."

"That's part of the reason," Toshiro affirmed, "although another important part is that they don't want the commoners in an uproar about the end of the world coming or something. To keep everyone calm, we are just being told to say that there is a new king on the throne."

"We're just not telling everyone it's a dead king."

"Right."

The two looked up as a hell butterfly floated in through the privacy shield.

"What the heck?" Rangiku mused.

Toshiro, Shunsui's smooth voice said from within the hovering butterfly, we've just had word from Central 46 about a situation in the Rukongai. There are reports that a man staggered into one of the towns there. According to our people in the area, his reiatsu and appearance match the identity of Ichimaru Gin.

"What?" Toshiro gasped.

Rangiku's face went white.

"B-but…but that's not possible!"

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"I'm not gonna ask you again, you trash," Ikkaku snapped, glaring at the filthy, ragged looking silver-haired man who was kido bound to a chair in front of him, "How in the hell are you alive? I know damned well that Central 46 confirmed your death, and that Rangiku brought you down here to be buried after that. You look half dead even now. So, tell me what happened, before I get pissed off and just put you back in that fucking grave!"

"Did you think of checking the grave instead of beating up on me?" Gin asked, grimacing, "because, while you won't find me there, you might find some clues. I told you already, I don't know what happened or how. I just remember crawling into town and being found by you. I don't have anything to hide."

Gin gave an agonized grunt, doubling over as the eleventh division officer punched him in the stomach.

"Ugh, I kinda wish I'd had the presence of mind to not crawl right to you," he complained, "You don't have very good manners."

"Oh," Ikkaku sneered, "you don't like the warm reception we're giving you? Then, if you don't like it, just give me the goddamned truth and we'll spare you anymore of a beating."

"Maybe you should just stop playing with him and kill him again," Yumichika suggested, giving his lover an annoyed look, "This is so ugly."

"Well, it's gonna get uglier," Ikkaku growled, rounding on Gin again, "Why don't you go for a walk while I take care of this?"

"Oh, would if I could, you know, but I've had a hell butterfly from Kyoraku Sotaicho, and he wants the little snake here kept alive for questioning. He's sending a team to escort Gin back."

"Maybe they'll give you a cell in Muken right next to your buddy, Aizen!"

"That wouldn't be my first choice," Gin said dryly, "although, I just know if I was put that close to him, he'd at least not kill me for long enough to craft a plan for us to escape. Maybe it's not good to put us close together. Too much incentive for him to misbehave, you know."

"Do you ever shut up?" Ikkaku complained, drawing back and striking the former taicho across the face, "Knock it off, all right?"

"A moment ago, you wanted me to talk," Gin said saucily, not reacting at all to the blood running down from a cut on his cheek, "Now, you hit me to make me be quiet? How am I supposed to figure out what you really want?"

"Gah! That's it! I'm killing the bastard!"

"Oh, don't do anything too gory," Yumi sighed, "It'll be hard to clean up before Hitsugaya taicho and his guys get here."

"Toshiro?" Ikkaku repeated, scowling, "Why are they sending him and not our taicho? We're the ones who caught this asshole!"

"Eh, it wasn't so much catching as me falling into your laps," Gin mused.

Yumi gave a sarcastic chuckle.

"You think that, after what this animal did to the lovely Kuchiki taicho, our taicho would let him take another breath? Remember, Sotaicho wants Gin alive for questioning."

"In all honesty, I wasn't trying to kill Byakuya," Gin interjected, "I was trying to kill Rukia on Sosuke's order."

"SHUT UP!" the two officers shouted together.

"I could leave him alive," Ikkaku snorted, "and just wishing he was dead!"

"Temper, temper. Don't get in trouble now. We've got a date tonight, remember?" Yumi snickered.

"Heh, right," Ikkaku agreed, "All right, I'll let the creepy-eyed freak live a little longer. Probably Central 46 will just execute him later anyway."

"Probably," Gin agreed, flinching as Ikkaku snarled at him and clenched a fist, "although, since I didn't stay dead this time, I wonder if they would be able to kill me if they tried again."

"You want me to see if you can die if I kill you?" Ikkaku offered, glaring at him, "I'll be happy to kill you over and over until you stay dead!"

"Wow, you are in an ugly mood today, aren't you?" Yumi chuckled, "Maybe you should go and wait for Hitsugaya taicho and I'll sit with Gin."

"Huh, why don't you give him a little of the vine treatment?" Ikkaku suggested, "Suck out some reiatsu and leave him a dried out husk."

"Ooh, you're scary," Gin commented, "I think I want to stay with your more civil friend, here."

"Watch out that he doesn't stab you in the back, Yumi," Ikkaku said condescendingly, "He does that a lot."

Yumichika watched his steamed lover stalk out of the tent, then he turned back to Gin.

"You might want to reconsider fessing up about how you did this. I might not want to kill you on sight, but most of the rest of the Seireitei will."

"I would be happy to spill my guts if I had any idea what happened," Gin assured him, "Look at me! I'm covered with dirt, my hair and nails are overgrown. I have been dead and in the ground ever since Rangiku brought me back here. I know you want me to have done it myself, but I assure you, I didn't. There is nothing I can tell you."

"Is that right?" Yumi said, moving closer to him and raising his reiatsu, "You know, I want to believe you, but it's hard to do that, after what you've done. Tell you what. I have a little power that Ikkaku doesn't know I've picked up. I'm thinking that…maybe I'll try it on you and see how far it takes us in getting some answers."

"Oh, I really don't like the sound of that," Gin said, frowning.

"If you think you don't like it now, just wait until I'm done with…"

"Frosty's here," Ikkaku said, reappearing in front of the two, "We've been ordered back to base."

"Oh, and I was just about to have some fun with him," Yumi complained.

The two fell silent as Toshiro appeared behind Ikkaku, with Rangiku at his side. The taicho and his adjutant moved forward, shaking their heads in wonder at the sight of the silver-haired man.

"I don't believe it," Toshiro breathed.

"Gin!" Rangiku gasped, staring at him.

"Hi there," Gin said, smiling at them, "Thanks for stopping that scary guy from hurting me."

"Idiots," Toshiro huffed, "They weren't supposed to do anything that could keep you from talking."

"I think they thought that they could beat the answers out of me. I hope you have a little bit gentler way of extracting what you want."

"Ichimaru Gin," Toshiro said sternly, "you are under arrest for high treason!"

"Oh bother," Gin sighed, "here we go again."

"Is that really unexpected?" Rangiku scolded him.

"Well, no, not really," Gin chuckled, "But, at least you know what my real intentions were. I do apologize that I was never able to give back what Sosuke stole from you. I really hoped that you would have that part of your soul restored."

A look of guilt passed over Rangiku's face.

"Gin, no matter what Aizen took, I didn't want you to do what you did."

"I know," Gin agreed, "and that's why I'm glad I got to say I'm sorry. I troubled you a lot."

"You can say that again," Toshiro said, scowling, "And after you pulled that and then died, she was a complete wreck for a long time."

"Taicho!" Rangiku objected.

"I'll say it again," Gin said, looking up at her, "Sorry, Rangiku. I wish that I could give it back to you. It's not possible now, but if it ever is."

"Don't worry about it," Rangiku chided him, moving closer, "Gin, I'm just glad you're alive."

"I don't know if it's a good thing for you."
"Of course it is!" Rangiku insisted, "You know I'll…"

"No," Gin said solemnly, "I don't want you to get involved. I'm sure they made it hard enough for you when you wanted me to be pardoned."

Rangiku looked down at her hands and said nothing.

"Ah, I was right. In any case, I don't want you to do anything. Just let them take me to Central 46 to be questioned. I'll go peacefully."

"We do have to take you back now," Toshiro said, rubbing his chin, "But maybe Rangiku should heal you before we leave."

"I don't want to bother her with that."

"Well, it's regulation that we make sure all prisoners' wounds are seen to before transporting them back to the Seireitei."

"Wouldn't want me to die before they order it, huh?" Gin chuckled.

"You should take this more seriously," Toshiro said dryly.

Gin frowned and looked closer at the tenth division taicho, noting his taller, more slender body and thicker, slightly longer white hair.

"Whoa! Snowy, look at you!" he laughed, "You're all grown up. When did this happen?"

"None of your business," Toshiro snapped, grabbing Gin's arm and shattering the kido ropes on the man.

All three froze as bright silvery light erupted between Gin and Toshiro, and began to pulsate wildly.

"Wh-what? What is that?" Toshiro gasped, "What the hell is going on here?"