Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, only this plot and techinically Sode no Shirayuki and Shinso.

Chapter Two- Zanpakuto

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Sode no Shirayuki—known by a certain zanpakuto he had contact with as simply "Yuki"—always found his wielder's attitude toward Gin Ichimaru to be rather odd.

Yuki knew that Rukia Kuchiki had a deep-rooted fear of the Captain, but wasn't sure why his form had been changed so abruptly to include silver hair—a unique trait of Gin's. He still had the blue scarf that signified Byakuya Kuchiki, the lightening-shaped tattoos on his chest from Renji Abarai, and the grey-blue eyes of Kaien Shiba, but the new additions surprised him.

Soul Reaper's zanpakuto were a part of their souls, and if a Soul Reaper valued his or her loved ones above themselves, then their zanpakuto would sometimes take on certain characteristics from their wielder's loved ones.

So why was Gin Ichimaru suddenly added to the list?

The Nights came.

Yuki saw the moon above him shine impossibly bright on that first night—a white supernova—as Rukia succumbed to her grief and despair and let hope in, no matter what the price. It was incredible to watch Rukia's mind be overcome by a desire for fulfillment that Yuki had never before seen in her. He had to cover his eyes with his long, white sleeves as the stars seemed to burst into fireworks.

The rain which usually doused Rukia's soul all but vanished, making Yuki somewhat pleased.

Then the second night, a new being arrived in the area he resided in—an ice palace with a moon instead of a sun lighting his world.

Yuki stared at the lanky, androgynous being with the wide smile and storm-grey eyes. Its skin was almost as pale as his was, clothed in a sleeveless white tunic and what Yuki suspected was a black loincloth. Its hair, the same silver color as its master's, was tied back in a ponytail.

"I'm Shinso." The being grinned and held out his hand—the slick baritone was unmistakably male. "Our wielders have…'met' before."

Yuki shivered at the abnormally-long nails Shinso exhibited, but took his hand anyway. "Sode no Shirayuki."

Shinso cocked his head to one side. "Soda no…? That's a bit long. Why don't I just call you Yuki instead?"

Before Yuki could object Shinso was closer. He had never been in such personal contact with another zanpakuto before. At the very least he had battled occasionally against Zabimaru (Renji's zanpakuto) or Kaien's (the name of that dead one still hurt). This was feeling…intimate.

"That's fine, Shinso. Perfectly fine."

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Zanpakuto, unlike Soul Reapers, have no real inhibitions when it comes to intimacy.

Once one got right down to it, the innermost soul of a person has no real gender: it shifts at will. Gender has no meaning for zanpakuto—they simply are.

So Shinso and Yuki did as their wielders did: Yuki molded with Shinso, sharing the innermost parts of Rukia's heart and mind, while Shinso absorbed it all with a smile. It was a more powerful version of what Rukia and Gin were performing in the physical world, and it was clear that it still resonated throughout the wounds in Rukia's heart…even if she had no real inkling of what was going on between the two of them. After all, the conscious mind normally has little contact with their innermost, subconcious selves.

And when Yuki was left alone in his wielder's despair, he had no idea what to do.

Gin had broken Rukia's resolve, that much was certain—but Shinso had not done the same. No, Shinso had materialized in front of him and had only given him a brief farewell before vanishing again.

He hadn't even brushed Yuki's hair out of his eyes.

That hurt more than Yuki would ever admit. After all, weren't he and Shinso lovers? He thought lovers were supposed to stand by each other for all of eternity—no matter what happened to their wielders' relationship. They were supposed to stand together.

They had even placed a bet on how many tries it would take before Rukia cooked something remotely edible. It wasn't easy for Yuki to admit Rukia's faults—in his opinion, she didn't really have any—and for him to have bet on something like that…It was a relationship that couldn't be broken so easily.

So when Yuki realized that Rukia was training him to fight against the very person he still cared for, the soul of the one who had betrayed her…He decided to wait things out, to see what Rukia's general plan was before—and for that matter, if—he did indeed oppose her.

Then he sensed Shinso's presence for the first time in months, and that plan flew straight out the window.