I don't own Bleach or any of its characters.
Old fic! Over a year old, and I've... well matured a lot at a writer. But I'm putting it up just for the heck of it. So I hope it's not too bad...
"Still giving that dumbfounded stare? I would think I've used Shikai enough times in front of you by now for you to know what it looks like." Rukia commented upon seeing Ichigo's expression.
"It's just-"
"Come on! We're fighting!" Rukia jumped up into the air to face the oncoming group of hollows, Ichigo not far behind her.
When the pair had defeated the group of hollows, it was early afternoon and they were walking the streets of Karakura Town.
"Rukia, how did you get your Shikai?" Ichigo asked her. "I was wondering how Shinigami normally obtain it."
"Well, we have to speak to the zanpakuto in its own world and learn its name." She answered. "Probably not that different from how you did, idiot."
"Hey! I figured it would be pretty much the same, but I didn't know for sure!" Ichigo quickly replied to her. "Hey, Rukia are you even listening?"
Rukia was smiling. She definitely remembered how she had gotten her Shikai.
"Shikai?" Rukia asked, shocked.
"Yeah," Kaien answered, "What other Shikai would I be talking about?"
Rukia looked down at the ground sadly, the words of her brother echoing in her head. "I honestly don't think that I'm good enough to learn that…" She said finally.
"What? Of course you are!" Kaien then looked at the expression on her face. He realized immediately what she was thinking, but decided not to say anything about it. He placed his hand on her head and she looked up slightly. "Come on." He took a step back and raised Nejibana. Rukia also raised her zanpakuto, although with slight hesitation.
Calm down… you can do this… Her grip on the handle tightened. Kaien's face suddenly looked very serious. "Sorry Kuchiki, but this is the only way. Don't hold back." He then began to spin his sword around slowly. "Suiten Sakamake… Nejibana!" Rukia would have stared in amazement, if she had not been hit with a massive wave. She gripped her sword tightly to make sure it wasn't carried away in the rushing water, and held her breath. The water eventually cleared away, leaving her soaking wet on the ground.
"I told you… I'm not going to hold back." Kaien told her, clearly serious. "Please…stand up and fight, Kuchiki."
Rukia stumbled to her feet and raised her katana. She ran forward and swung down, the attack was easily blocked by Kaien. He flipped Nejibana around, sending her skidding back. He then used a Shunpo to get behind her and slashed down. Rukia dodged the blow just in time and slashed upwards at him. Kaien easily blocked the attack and sent her flying back just by flicking his wrist, a wave following soon after.
Rukia raised her sword and took a step forward and looked up at her mentor. What an amazing Zanpakuto… even Kaien-dono's technique is amazing… it reminds me of a dance… Every time he moves his Zanpakuto, a wave is summoned… I wouldn't be surprised if those waves could cut someone in half… She took a deep breath and ran forward her sword held out in front of her. Kaien ran forward and blocked her sword by catching it in three prongs at the tip. He then flicked it downwards sending a wave directly at Rukia.
The force of the impact knocked the air from her lungs and caused her to drop her sword. It was quickly carried away in the rushing water without her realizing what had happened. Focus…focus… She kept on telling herself. The water eventually cleared away from her, and she immediately saw her zanpakuto several yards away. She took off towards it, only to find Nejibana at her neck in an instant. She dropped to the ground and flipped backwards away from Kaien and skidded to a stop.
Kaien then raised Nejibana and rotated it in his hand, causing several waves to crash down around him. Rukia rose to her feet as quickly as she could and took a step back.
"Ye lord…" She focused as she tried to keep away from the waves while saying the incantation. "Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings," She felt a wave barely miss her but kept on going. "Ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws." She held her hand out in front of her and aimed. "Hado 33, Soukatsui!" A blast of blue spiritual energy came from her hand, covering the area in front of her. Rukia ran over to where her sword had fallen and picked it up.
Before she could even get into position, several waves crashed all around her. She shielded her eyes with her arms, making sure to keep a good grasp on the hilt of her zanpakuto. Kaien was there seconds later swinging Nejibana down at her. Rukia managed to block the attack with her katana, even though she was distracted by the roaring waves. The two stayed locked there for several seconds. Rukia placed her hand on the flat side of her zanpakuto and pushed with all of her strength, but it wasn't enough. Kaien overpowered her, causing her to fall backwards onto the ground. She rolled up just in time to avoid being hit with the wave that followed right after the attack.
Rukia took several steps back, katana still raised. Kaien had started to spin his zanpakuto around rapidly, causing it to look like a spinning disk of water and steel. He lunged forward; zanpakuto raised high. He brought it down hard, sending all of the water that had been spinning with it down on Rukia in a matter of seconds. She gasped in a breath of air before her mouth filled with water. The impact was intense, it knocked the air form her lungs again, and caused her to cough up blood. It lasted only a split second, but felt like an eternity to Rukia. When it was over, she was on the ground gasping for breath. She knew she could find the strength to stand but felt no will to at that moment.
Why am I doing this? I know I am not good enough to obtain Shikai, Nii-Sama has made that clear… She gripped her zanpakuto tightly in frustration. So why… why am I fighting? Is this battle… meaningless? I want Shikai… but can I? Can I obtain Shikai?
Rukia opened her eyes and raised her head slowly, feeling the air turn cold around her. Standing near her head was a beautiful woman with snow-white skin. She wore a white kimono, icy blue at the edges, and no shoes. Her long, pure white hair was tied neatly into a bow and her blue eyes looked right at Rukia.
"Why can't you?" She asked. "Why can you not achieve Shikai? You won't if you don't think you can. Now stand."
Rukia slowly rose to her feet.
"If you give into what others think, you will never find true strength." She extended her elegant hand out to the side, the ribbons that adorned her clothing dancing gracefully around her arm. "If you are afraid, your blade will shatter." She looked directly into Rukia's eyes.. "If you don't believe, you will never improve! If you lack resolve, nothing will be achieved! So overcome your troubles! Don't let your blade shatter and find your resolution! Now shout my name and dance like the white snow! My name is…"
"Sode no Shirayuki!"
An icy fog quickly descended over the area. The waves around Rukia froze in an instant. Snow and ice swirled around her blocking her from sight. Kaien shielded his eyes from the blizzard, keeping one eye open to look for Rukia.
The snow blew away to reveal Rukia standing with a pure white zanpakuto in her hand. A long white ribbon danced elegantly around her. The blade was white, the hilt was white, the entire Zanpakuto was white. Kaien stared at it in awe.
Rukia opened her eyes and raised the zanpakuto. A white circle of ice formed around her feet, extending out to where Kaien stood. He jumped out of the circle just as light shot from it, creating a giant icy pillar on the battlefield. It cracked soon after and shattered into millions of pieces, falling from the sky, sparkling in the noon sun. Rukia lowered her zanpakuto and let out a sigh.
"Did I… do it?" She said quietly, clearly exhausted.
Kaien ran over to her. "Did you do it? Take a look! It's beautiful!"
Rukia looked at her Zanpakuto and blinked in amazement as if she didn't believe it was really her own. "I… I did it!"
"See, I told you! And that Zanpakuto is stunning! It's the prettiest one in all of Soul Society! I'd bet all my money on that!" He crossed his arms, keeping Nejibana in the crook of his elbow and gave Rukia a grin that made her feel ecstatic. It was a moment she could never forget. She smiled, looking at her zanpakuto and then at Kaien. He opened his eyes and placed his hand on her head warmly.
"Good job, Kuchiki."
"Rukia! Listen, will ya?"
Rukia shook her head, waking herself from her thoughts. "Uh, sorry I was just thinking." She told the orange-haired Shinigami representative.
Ichigo stared at her for a moment. "Fond memories?" He asked.
"Yeah." She answered. "Come on, let's get something to eat."
Ichigo nodded in agreement then started walking down the street with her. "Any chance of you telling me what you were thinking about?"
Rukia smiled. "Not right now. I'll tell you some other time."