~Chapter 2: Shattered~

Or so she thought.

It shattered into a million pieces of tiny shards of ice that leisurely floated down at Rukia. She swung her head around with a bewildered look. The true Sode no Shirayuki lingered in the air in all its beauty and pride, looking down with disdain.

She deliberately, intimidatingly lowered herself and sauntered with fluid grace like a goddess with her head bowed.

"If you cannot recognize your opponent, no less your own zanpaktou.." she began icily, her blade raised high above her penetrating gaze, "then I will not hand over bankai."

With that said, she swung her arm down, creating wind havoc. Rukia brought her arms up to shelter her eyes from the flurry of snow that sprayed out.

Sode no Shirayuki flashed in front of her, a purely white hand on her own zanpaktou, swinging it right across her head. Rukia reacted on instinct and flash-stepped up into the air, only to be followed closely that swung her blade down, barely giving her time to block it.

Rukia cringed as pressure strikingly increased against her already worn-out body. Her arms shook as they held her up against her zanpaktou. Before her arms gave in, she gathered what was left of her to swing her foe away and somersaulted a distance away.

She panted heavily and dropped to the floor in exhaustion. Rukia managed to lift her head up to keep a watchful eye on her zanpaktou who stood there with quiet grandeur.

"I will say this again," Sode no Shirayuki piercingly stared, pointing her sword at Rukia, "give up."

Rukia stared back with equal intensity,

"Never."

Silence filled the entire room. Both were rigid with tension—one warily watching to see if she'd make a move, the other anticipating to see if she'd take back her response.

"Then so be it," Sode no Shirayuki said with finality ringing in her voice, "Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren."

Rukia stared wide-eyed at the oncoming flood of ice, summoning her stubborn, sore body to move.

"Move, dammit! Move!" Rukia thought desperately, her eyes wincing as she lifted her body with her arms in agony as the ice came nearer, "I can't die here!"

At the last minute, she shunpoed out of harm's way and collapsed against an evergreen tree, wheezing and perspiring, her left hand profusely bleeding through her messily wrapped cloth.

The fabric slipped a little from the injured hand.

"…I have…to keep fighting…" Rukia thought, gripping her zanpakou tightly, her eyes fighting to be kept open, the cloth loosening but hanging on, "I will not lose conscious. Not now."

Her sensitive ears heard the clash of sword, through tree, through flesh—my flesh she corrected dizzily, unable to utter a single word. Rukia's hand loosened her hold on her zanpaktou, her eyes' color fading rapidly as they flickered open forcefully and closed repeatedly, her hazy vision spotting something strangely dark fluttering down to meet white.

She did not see the bloodied cloth land next to her own blood, tainting the pure snow.


A/N: Sorry for the month-late update ^^ I'm just very busy with school at the moment (as all authors say repetitively, lol). See y'all on the next chappy~!