Previous: A traitor in the wind
Toshiro made sure to completely suppress his spiritual pressure before entering the Forest of Menos. He did not want to alert anything or anyone to his presence. Here he would make a suitable disguise to infiltrate the enemy's headquarters. His first step, much to his dismay, was to change his hair color. He located a nearby stream and washed his hair of all the gel that was in it. The he scouted around the area looking for things that would change it's color. After about an hour or so he managed to change the color to black with a red tips by using some berries and juices of local fruit. He had used a fire to mix and heat it, the heat allowed it to color his hair. Using the soot he darkened his bottom eyelids completely. He styled his hair so that it was parted to the right and covered one of his eyes completely.
The next part of his plan was to find an arrancar mask. This was the hard part. He had to find one that was not completely broken and that would fit with his abilities. Most likely something serpentine. Serpents can be found in water, and his zanpakuto abilities is water and ice. To not blow his cover he would have to avoid using the ice. That would have to wait till tomorrow though. It was late, and if he was going to hunt a serpentine arrancar and fight it tomorrow without destroying its mask he would need his rest. He climbed the tallest tree he could find, he would be safe there for the night. Tomorrow he would look for a more suitable place.
The night was long. The cries of lower hollows being devoured by stronger ones echoed in the dark passages of the forest. Some were very close by. It was hard for Toshiro to sleep, but eventually his eyes did drift to a close with his hand gripping his zanpakuto. Morning came to the sound of an eerie silence. He slowly got to his feet, he had sensed something! Something strong, and close. He was being watched! He looked all around him and saw nothing, and then (as if on cue) he turned around. Coiled around a branch not far from him was a giant snake. How perfect was this. Just the creature he was looking for. Before he could even draw his sword the snake lunged at him, jaws opened wide. He grabbed the mouth of the snake and held on tight as the two were hurtled to the forest floor! This was going to hurt......
The two landed hard, the wind knocked out of Toshiro, but he held his grip on the snake. He turned the snakes head hard to get it off of him and leaped back, reaching for Hyourinmaru. It was gone! It must have come loose during the fall! He searched around frantically for it, and as he did the snake was coming back to his senses. Toshiro had spotted his sword! It was just a few feet from him. He made a quick dash for it just as the snake launched it's tail at him! Just as he got a hold of the hilt the snakes tail wrapped around his ankles and dragged him towards its open mouth. Once in range the young captain lopped of the snake's head with a quick slice of his sword, then landed with a thud next to it's twitching body.
He got up and dusted himself off. For a moment he watched as the snakes body disappeared, then proceeded to pry the lower jaw of its mask off. Oh yes, it would fit very nicely. He slipped the jaw mask over his head and positioned it accordingly. With this his outfit was almost complete. The final task made him sick to his stomach. He glanced down at his zanpakuto. It was really unfortunate, but Hyourinmaru was just far too recognizable. He needed to alter it's appearance and there was only one man he trusted to do that.
Kisuke Urahara.
Next: Unwanted Change
