I don't own Bleach.
Sode no Shirayuki was not surprised when her master decided to transfer a part of her power to the human boy. They were in a dangerous situation, she was also badly injured. She really had no choice. She would try this or they would all die. So when she started to flow from her to the human boy she wasn't surprised at all.
But when the boy greedily took all of her away from her master, shock was a weak statement what she had felt at that moment. She tried to fight against the power but couldn't and in a blink she was in the boy.
After the shock passed she felt anger. How dare this human boy take her away from her master who generously offered half of her power? Those filthy little human…
"Who are you?"
Sode no Shirayuki slowly turned and she noticed just now her surroundings. She was in a city of skyscrapers turned sideways and she was standing on the window of one of them. But she wasn't the only one standing there. Not so far away from her near the top of the building stood a man in a jet black cape watching her behind his light brown shades. Sode no Shirayuki frowned at the man.
"Who are you?"
The man narrowed his eyes.
"I asked it first" he said with a low voice but she could hear him perfectly. "You are the one who entered Ichigo's inner world without permission. Answer or I'll kill you."
What a rude man, Shirayuki thought. But in a way he was completely right. She was the stranger here. She wasn't supposed to be here. On the other hand however neither the man should be here in the human boy.
"I'm Sode no Shirayuki, the Shinigami power of my master, Kuchiki Rukia."
The man frowned at this. Probably in surprise.
"Shinigami? What are you doing here?"
"My master is injured" Shirayuki explained patiently. "She and the human boy you called Ichigo are in grave danger. My master thought the only way to survive is to transfer half of her power to the boy. But the moment the transferring had begun I found the whole being of me here. The boy took me away from my master."
Sode no Shirayuki waited for the opinion of the mysterious man but it never came. Instead of saying anything the man looked at the window she was standing on.
"And now answer my question" she said after a long while. "Who are you and what are you doing here? Even though the boy has high spiritual power it doesn't mean he should have an inner world like this."
The man looked up and started watching her so intensely that it quickly became really uncomfortable. After a minute Shirayuki opened her mouth to say something to this but suddenly the man turned away from her and jumped to the next building. The woman watched him with wide eyes then turned away angrily.
"How rude…"
x
Shirayuki needed a few days to more or less get used to the boy's inner world. The skyscrapers seemed to be desires and dreams because they grew with every passing day. One time when she was walking on the streets and looked inside a window she saw pictures on the wall. She tried to enter and have a look around but the door was locked. She figured all doors must be closed to her so she never tried to open one again. An other time from the top of the building where she appeared for the first time she saw many of them and she couldn't see where they ended. This boy had many dreams and ambitions, she guessed.
She also noticed that the weather was in connection with the boy's emotions. Positive emotions were followed by good weather, negative ones caused bad weather. She thought maybe his lowest emotional state would be represented by rain – because a black skyscraper was surrounded by puddles all the time – but it didn't rain since she was there. There were clouds sometimes but they quickly disappeared.
And there was also the mysterious man. Ever since their first meeting she didn't talk to him but she saw him keeping an eye on her from the distance. She couldn't put his existence anywhere. If the boy was a human what was he doing here? He wasn't a Shinigami to have an inner world like this and a manifestation like the man. The boy was just a human.
Or was he?
This thought made her curious and she started to have a feeling that the boy's world hid something interesting. Sode no Shirayuki turned towards the building she appeared on and she walked there with a fast pace. Maybe there was a reason she appeared there and why the man watched the window she was standing on.
The building was as tall as the others but it was a little wider. Not a big difference like with the black skyscraper but still a difference. Maybe these different buildings hid some special dreams. Or maybe memories.
Arriving to the skyscraper Shirayuki jumped and gracefully landed on the window of the third floor. From there she walked to the spot where she had arrived. As she was observing the window she had a feeling somebody was watching her and soon from the corner of her eyes she saw the mysterious man standing on the next building. A little smirk formed on her lips. So she was getting closer to something. Good.
And she found that something behind the very same window she was standing on a few days ago. The thing that caught her attention was a red ribbon. And she knew very much what red ribbons meant. Now the question was how can she get inside. The door was probably locked so the only way was breaking the window. But can she do it? Would the man let her?
She prepared for the worst as she couched down and touched the glass. The glass started to freeze under her palm and it didn't take long to cover every part of it with ice. Shirayuki stepped away and snapped her fingers. The ice along with the window broke, the shards fell to the street. Without looking at the man she stepped inside.
The room was dark, just the window she entered through wasn't covered with heavy curtains. The walls were similar to the style of the buildings in Soul Society. On the far side of the room hangings were on the wall. The red ribbon was hanging from behind it, tempting her to touch it.
Shirayuki walked to the hangings carefully. Behind it she will find the answer. She will find out who this Ichigo really was. Shirayuki almost touched it with her fingertips when suddenly someone grabbed her arm and threw her out from the room.
Everything happened so fast she didn't have time to react and before she could woke from her surprise she was already pinned to the building on the opposite side of the street by strong hands on her wrists. She looked up and saw the man inches away from her face.
"You already caused enough trouble" he whispered with menace but it didn't scare Shirayuki.
"The boy is a half-blood Shinigami, right?" she asked angrily. "That's why his inner world looks like this. But you have nothing that reminds me to the manifestation of a Shinigami power. Who are you!"
The man talked but didn't answer her question.
"Your prescience is troublesome. You awakened it and now he likes being like them. But I won't let it happen. I don't care if I'll die, I'll kill him before it's too late."
Shirayuki tried to free her hands but the man was stronger than her. When she realised that wasting energy was no use for her she looked at the man, her eyes mirroring the same menace as his.
"Release me or I'll freeze you" she whispered.
The man eyed her for a while then finally let her hand go. He stood up, turned his back to her and walked away. Shirayuki pushed herself up to sitting position and looked at the man.
"We're not finished!" she yelled after him.
The man stopped and looked at the broken window on the other building.
"Stay away from that room or I'll kill you" and with that the man jumped away.
Shirayuki watched the spot she had seen him the last time then looked at the skyscraper above her. The window was already fixed.
x
The next few days passed in silence. Just the boy used her power from time to time and she had to admit he did great for someone who lived as a human since his birth. It was surely in his nature, just like being protective and selfless. And he was ridiculously hasty. Thumbing his nose at danger he rushed to any enemy without thinking out a strategy. But his instincts were surprisingly great. He came up with ideas during his fights and most of the time they worked. Slowly Shirayuki started admiring the boy.
After the incident with that room she found herself a place where she could stay. It was a smaller building than the others but it was steadily growing. When she was sitting on top of it, hanging her legs from it, she felt it familiar and this familiarity made her comfortable in this still strange place. There she could think without feeling distressed.
She – or rather her master – had never heard of any Shinigami having a child from a human. It seemed so unnatural that a spirit and a human body bonded to produce a new life. To her knowledge it was impossible. Still, the boy was here and he was very alive. He functioned as a human who inherited Shinigami power from one of his parents. What she couldn't understand was the role of the man. He said she had awakened something, maybe Ichigo's Shinigami power. But why was he against it so much he considered killing the boy before it was too late? Who was he?
She then felt something wet touching her face. Shirayuki slowly looked up and saw dark clouds covering the usually bright sky. It was raining. And with every raindrop she felt the sadness building up inside the boy. The puddles grew especially around the black skyscraper where the rain was the heaviest.
"I hate the rain."
Shirayuki quickly turned to her right. The man was standing next to her, looking at the black building.
"I prefer the sun. That means Ichigo is happy and I don't have to worry about his wellbeing."
Shirayuki frowned at him.
"You became really talkative."
The man didn't look at her when he answered.
"I figured you would stay here longer than both of us expected."
The woman nodded and looked back at the black skyscraper now almost invisible behind the curtain of the rain.
"The building represents someone he lost" she said and the man nodded. Shirayuki closed her eyes and concentrated on the battle outside. "Her mother was killed by a Hollow and he tries to avenge her."
"She died while she tried to protect him" the man explained. "She was a strong woman but there was an unfortunate date in her lifetime."
Shirayuki opened her eyes and looked up at the man. He was surprisingly emotional about this topic. Behind the shades she could see his eyes reflecting sadness and his whole being radiated that.
"He inherited you from her, right?" she asked carefully but the man didn't answer. Instead he turned away and started to walk away. Shirayuki quickly stood up and looked at the back of him. "So his father was a Shinigami but his mother wasn't a human, right? I'm sure she was not a Shinigami but then what? What was she? And what are you?"
The man stopped but didn't look back.
"It is none of your concern."
"I think it becomes mine too. The boy uses my power and I started to care for him. He likes being a Shinigami and I gladly help."
Her last sentence finally caused the man to show some reaction. His whole body became tensed with the emotions he tried to keep in bay.
"I won't let him become a Shinigami. I'd rather…"
"Die killing him. You already said that. But you have to admit that his world became bigger and more beautiful ever since I came here. Noticed how high the buildings grew? Saw the trees and the flowers on the street? The gardens on top of some skyscrapers? He loves being a Shinigami and you can't change this fact."
Just when she finished the rain became weaker and soon stopped. Except above her building but it wasn't rain that was falling from the sky. It was beautiful snow. At the same time the building they were standing on grew many levels higher and now it was one of the biggests. Shirayuki looked around in awe. Her favourite skyscraper now radiated warmer feelings then before and the thin layer of snow covering its top shined brightly.
"See?" she finally asked. "You can't ignore how great he feels about his new powers."
She looked towards the man but he wasn't there anymore.
x
Again it happened so fast she couldn't react. A power greater than her took her away from her lovely skyscraper and pulled her against a certain building and a certain window. The window of the room with Ichigo's own Shinigami power. Not just the glass but the whole building was boiling and she was helplessly attached to it. She tried to get away from it but the liquid like wall crossed her waist and legs like ropes and didn't let her away.
Sode no Shirayuki started to panic. A moment ago when she was standing on top of her building Ichigo used her power and for the first time his own power too. His whole inner world was shaking then she was here slowly sinking into the boiling building. This high amount of uncontrollable power was destroying him and her. If the building swallows her there would be no way back. She would be gone and she would never see her dear master again.
Every one of the skyscrapers and even the streets were boiling now and they started to lose their form. Shirayuki's body was almost sunk, just her face and her right hand were outside. As she closed her eyes and started to accept her fate a hand grabbed her own and she stopped sinking.
Shirayuki opened her wide eyes. The man was holding her, pulling her back to the surface. She couldn't say anything. The power of the room was running through her to the man and from him it left this place. With every passing power the boiling window slowly let her leave and as the last part of her left the building it became stable along with everything else in Ichigo's world. His power was under control again.
Shirayuki didn't have the power to stand on her own. She fell against the man's chest and breathed heavily. Just after she finally calmed down she could say anything.
"What happened?"
"Ichigo lost control" he simply answered, his surprisingly warm hand still holding her cold one. "Now you understand why his power must be sealed. I have to negate it so this won't happen again."
Shirayuki frowned at this and slowly looked up.
"Negate?"
The man watched her in the eyes. She didn't understand his use of words. How could he negate Shinigami power? For that he must be a…
"Quincy?" she asked uncertainly. "Ichigo's mother was a Quincy?"
The man let her hand go and stepped away. Losing her stable point Shirayuki fell on her knees.
"Wait!" she called out and tried to stand up and follow him but she couldn't move. "How is it possible? How can a Shinigami and a Quincy have a child?"
The man didn't stop or turn.
"Ichigo's world is dangerous to those who don't belong here."
Shirayuki sighed as the man jumped away. Again. He was difficult to figure out but now she finally understood why he wanted to kill Ichigo if he'd fully awaken his own power. Shinigami and Quincy were opposites. She could just guess what was going on in Ichigo's world with two powers like those. Now clearly the man was the strongest power but when the Shinigami power awakens, they would start fighting with each other for dominance. And Ichigo would die in that fight painfully. But if the man kills him first, his death would be sudden and painless. In a way he would save Ichigo from complete destruction.
And in this chaotic world there was she. She, a foreign power in this dangerous world. It was a miracle that she hadn't been destroyed yet. She tried a few times leaving the boy but something always blocked her. Maybe the boy's own will made her stay, not letting her go back to her master. She missed her really much and the snow covered skyscraper couldn't ease this sadness. She knew they boy took great care of both her and her master but it wasn't the same. She wanted to be there for her the way she would be there for Shirayuki.
Shirayuki sighed and tried to stand up again when she noticed the boy in the dark room. He was sitting with his back leaning against the wall and he was watching her with emotionless eyes. He was very similar to the man but his face, especially his blue eyes reflected someone else. The boy was similar to her too. The vibe that surrounded him and the fact that he was in the dark room suggested that he represented Ichigo's Shinigami side. And it seemed both the man and Shirayuki had an effect on him, hence the similar appearance. The man said she had awakened it, the Shinigami power, and there he was, sitting in a locked patiently for its time.
Shirayuki considered for a moment the choice of letting him out. Then he'd be quickly the dominating power, locking the man into a similar room like this. But would it be a good idea? Ichigo would probably die in the process along with her. And maybe Ichigo wasn't her real master, she admired him really much.
Her eyes showed sadness as she was watching the boy. The boy closed his eyes and almost unnoticeably nodded. He understood her decision and though she felt really bad about him she was glad he wasn't angry at her.
Shirayuki stood up and carefully made her way to the snow covered skyscraper. She never came back to the room again.
x
Cold rain was falling everywhere in Ichigo's inner world, especially above Shirayuki's skyscraper. She was lying on the top of the building, unable to move, unable to think. Her wet white hair was stuck on her face, her once beautiful dress was muddy and torn. She was slowly fading away.
About half an hour ago Ichigo was fighting against Abarai Renji and she was fighting against Zabimaru. It was a strange experience to fight against somebody her master considered a friend. But she knew Ichigo's actions were noble. He wanted to protect her master and she was glad about it.
But then something horrible happened in Ichigo's world. She heard a growl somewhere from the distance, probably from the skyscraper Ichigo's Shinigami power was hiding. Every building was trembling and she felt Ichigo fighting with a new power. The power of a Hollow.
Shirayuki turned to the source of the power worryingly. Where was that Hollow power coming from? She had never felt it before. Did she not notice something? Was it always here but didn't awake yet?
She was about to go and find out what was going on when a familiar power flowed through her chest. Senbonzakura. The blade was burning with a thousand flames and the pain almost ripped her apart. She fell on the snow and didn't move again.
Now she was stilly lying there. Her master was brought back to Soul Society and the boy was left behind with bleeding wounds. The skyscrapers melted in the rain, becoming small little houses without any grace, beauty and dreams. She also felt herself melting, being washed away by the raindrops that burnt her skin like acid. But she couldn't care. She didn't have the power to care about anything.
Warm hands touched her face and brushed her hair away from her vision. The man was crouching next to her, his hair also wet from the rain.
"Being a Shinigami means he has to suffer" he said. "But now it finally ended."
Shirayuki looked up slowly.
"It ended but at what coast?" she asked weakly.
"He will live."
"But he will suffer."
The man didn't say anything and Shirayuki used this chance to try changing the man's opinion.
"Look around. Do you like what you see? He lost every dream and hope he had and now it rains unstoppably. You said you didn't like the rain."
The man stood up and turned away.
"I'll stand it if it means Ichigo will be safe."
Shirayuki laughed at this weakly.
"You think he will turn his back to everything he went through in the last two months? Those shades of yours make you blind and you don't see the obvious. Ichigo is a Shinigami. No matter what you want, he is the lord of his fate and you are just a mere object of his lordship."
The man clenched his fists.
"Stop it…"
The little smile grew bigger on Shirayuki's face.
"You are just one aspect of his world. A half or maybe just a quarter of his being. Others live here too, like the boy in the room who's waiting for his time to finally come."
"I said stop!" the man shouted as he turned, finally showing his true emotions to the woman. "I am the one who protects Ichigo! I am the one who rules his world! I am the main source of his power!"
"No, you're not" Shirayuki blinked and when her eyes were opened again her vision was blurred. She didn't have much time left and she still had many things to say. "I was the main source of his power and now the boy will be. Why can't you live with him in harmony? Because you are Quincy and he is Shinigami? Nonsense… His father was a Shinigami and his mother was a Quincy but they didn't care. They loved each other and had three children. Why can't you move on and try to accept your whole being like they accepted each other?"
The man crouched down again and looked at her with anger.
"I am my own being not a part of the thing you are talking about."
Shirayuki closed her eyes and smiled.
"There's just one soul in every human, Shinigami and Quincy. Maybe you have your own forms but you are one. You all are Ichigo's power. If you don't work together and there is turmoil in the source of his power, you won't be able to protect him. I did my best with my own power. I gave all of you a start. Now it's up to you to continue. I don't know what the future would bring to you but I'm hoping for the best."
She breathed out one last time and she lost consciousness.
x
She didn't feel, see or hear anything at all for who knows how long. She was in the nothingness, away from everything and anything. But soon the familiar smell of ice started to fill up the nothingness and a smile formed on her face. She was finally back at her place, at the side of her dear master.
What happened to Ichigo, the man and the boy? She didn't know. But when she finally wakes up that will be one of the first things she'll try to find out.