Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters, products, locations, etc. belong to Tite Kubo and VIZ Media. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.
Author's Note: Hey, everyone! It's finally here! :D
Warmth.
In the cold darkness, I was suddenly bathed in a warm light. Blinded, I shielded my eyes. When I removed my hand, I was lying against an ancient tree. Snow was falling, everything was covered in it, except the black lake before me.
A woman, with hair to her knees and clothed with a ceremonial robe in shades of blue, glowed before me. Another woman—a reflection of me—materialized in front of me, her golden irises seeming to glow against their black background, set in a face that almost couldn't be told apart from the snow.
"Etsuko…" I whispered in awe at the sight of my sword. "…and you-!"
"Relax, kiddo." My voice sounded distorted and cold coming from the mouth of my Hollow self. "We don't wanna hurt ya or nothin'. Our life-forces are linked, remember? Completely dependent on each other."
I turned my gaze on my sword's true self. "Etsuko… why have you brought us back here? I've been dead for a year. My soul has been at rest-"
"-Yet I have awakened you." Etsuko cut me off. "Kyouka Suigetsu has become tied to me, as the intensity of your relationship to her Aizen Sousuke still remains."
"Huh?!" I only knew of Kyouka Suigetsu because Sousuke and I had sparred together since I began training. But she and Etsuko had actually crossed, without any barriers of energy attacks, a few times.
"You know the connection a wielder has with their zanpaku-to. We remember, an intensity which transcends death… possibly even reality.
Kyouka Suigetsu and I still live, though our wielders have died. However, Kyouka Suigetsu has realized a way to bring Aizen Sousuke back from the dead, to accomplish their mutual desires for power.
She has also realized that Aizen Sousuke refuses to live without you, Suzuki Sakura."
I stared at Etsuko in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" I half-yelled with an eyebrow raised. "Sousuke is so powerful, so independent. He would never tie himself to another person like that, it's a weakness, which, I can assure you, is not something that's included in his dreams."
"Why not ask him yourself, if you refuse to believe in even your own zanpaku-to?" The voice that called out was almost teasing; it was hypontic, beautiful and delicate, like a wind chime.
I rose, warily looking around my haven. "Etsuko," I muttered, "who in the hell is here?"
"Look around."
My heart stopped. It was the most beautiful sound; a deep, throaty voice I would respond to in my sleep, in the heat of battle, even dead. I turned, and there he was.
The beginnings of a smile played at the corners of his lips, the smile I knew and loved so much.
"Sousuke-!" I choked out. I wanted to run to him, but my legs wouldn't move.
"What's the matter with you, Sakura? Have you not walked in a while?"
"A year." The tears of pure joy that had blurred my vision now dripped down my face and in to the snow.
And then he was there, gently drying my face with the edge of his sleeve.
"You can't honestly be that happy to see me."
I barked out a laugh through my near-hysterics. "But I am."
"Pardon my interruption of this beautiful reunion," the voice I didn't recognize said again, "but we have a choice to make."
I looked back at Sousuke; he was scowling now.
"Don't be annoyed with her now." I said softly. "Don't waste this. Please."
He smiled and lifted my chin. "You could always make me recall what was truly important."
A cough echoed through the trees. Sousuke tensed.
"Sakura," he said stiffly, eyes closed, "Kyouka Suigetsu has found a way to complete our ambitions, which we sought before my death. Yet a world without you is not one worth even conquering. Now that your soul is awakened, you can choose to live here, in your haven, or come back with me."
I brushed the lock of hair away from his eyes.
"A haven without you is really hell." I said simply.
"But there's a catch." It was my inner Hollow this time; she was sitting in the tree, completely relaxed. "Since your life-force can't sustain a body on its own, you need mine until it can."
"So what does that mean?" I leaned against Sousuke's chest; there was no heat, no heartbeat.
"It means that when you lose control of your emotions—when you get too angry, or experience a loss you can't cope with—I'll be taking control of your body, until you calm down enough to take the power back. Your life-force isn't strong enough to handle the extremities, so your reserves—me—will simply take control until you can yourself." She was smiling; the sight of it chilled me.
Yet I closed my eyes and nodded my head. "I want to be with you again. Once upon a time, I assumed you'd be fine without me… I thought we would be together again… but there's no other way."
His hold tightened around me, and I felt the slight pressure of his lips on my hair.
And then everything exploded.