Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. (I'll spare you guys the pun...)
AN: Just writing it the way I see it. Reviews are appreciated.
Alone on the rocky training grounds of the 13th Squad, Rukia took a deep breath, and slipped her zanpakutou out of its sheath.
It was getting late, and exhaustion was beginning to creep into her, but...
One more try. Her fingers tightened around the hilt.
The shame of having to force her duties on someone else when she had lost the ability to perform them herself...The dismay that came with watching others protect her because she had become useless in a fight...The fear that the strength she had worked so hard to attain was lost to her forever...She had come here, determined that it would all end today, for certain.
Her reiatsu had returned to the level it had been before she had lost her powers, something Captain Ukitake had affirmed. The thorough exercises she had done earlier showed that she could manipulate kidou spells almost as well as she used to.
That left only this final, difficult hurdle...The one she wanted to overcome the most. Every attempt so far had been unsuccessful, but she wasn't ready to call it quits.
This time...this time...
She held the zanpakutou upright in one hand, arm outstretched, and feet sliding into her usual stance. Focusing, she let the power fill her completely. Where, for so long, there had been only a feeble tingle, her reiatsu now hummed strongly in her veins. The exhilaration of rediscovering the sensation had begun to wear off in the last few frustrating hours, but this time...there was something different. This time...it felt far more promising.
Her heart began to race in anticipation.
Focus, she chided herself. . She wanted take her time – she was too close to want to fail now. She inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes.
But then it called to her, and she nearly gasped.
A faint sense of longing tugged at her heart, a longing she knew was not her own. But it awoke in her a similar emotion. Suddenly, she could not bear to wait any longer.
Her reiatsu surged, as if in agreement. There was no point in delaying - she was ready.
Now.
Her eyes flew open, and the command fell from her lips.
"Mae, Sode no Shirayuki."
Almost instantly, the air around her became chilled.
Rukia's heart leapt.
Before her eyes, frost settled over the sword in her hand before abruptly dissipating, leaving the weapon a pure, glistening white, and a similarly coloured ribbon streamed from its pommel. She stared in amazement for a moment - she had almost forgotten how beautiful it looked in this form - and her lips curved into a small smile.
A cool breeze gently blew into her face, brushing past her cheeks, lightly ruffling her hair. Improbable as it might have sounded, she felt the icy zephyr slowly encircle her, enveloping her, as if in a welcoming embrace. A few flakes of snow fell onto her dark robes.
Anyone else might have been cold, but for Rukia there was only fond warmth. "Sode no Shirayuki," she breathed.
I've missed you...
The wind caressed the hair that fell over her ears, and she heard the mild reproof in its whispered reply. Took you long enough, Rukia.