Happy Chinese New Year everyone! And a belated Merry Christmas and Happy 2014 to you too! Gritten-Tells is back! *shrinks* I'm sorry for not updating Snow and Sakura for such a long time… was thinking how I am going to type for the next chapter… Sorry to keep you waiting… And thank you guys for the reviews, faves and follows .


Rukia didn't fall for long. Her back soon contacted a hard surface, she gave a yelp, then groaned when she felt a dull ache throbbed all over her back. She sat up slowly.

She glared furiously at Mera-chan, who stood above her with her legs spread open, her hands placed above her hips. She was grinning.

"You tricked me!" Rukia accused, her eyes flashing. "You said Sode no Shirayuki would be here, but-"

A familiar reiatsu pulsed suddenly, causing Rukia stop talking and turned around. However she couldn't see anything except for darkness all around her. She caught a movement in the shadows. Her eyes widened. She could have sworn...

"Sode no... Shirayuki?"


"I can reforge your sword... but I cannot reforge the soul within the blade itself."

The words cut through Byakuya like a rusty blade. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Even if Nimaiya-dono can recreate his sword, his stolen bankai wouldn't return.

Neither would it bring Senbonzakura back, Byakuya had already suspected that much. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly. If he only he had defeated that damned Quincy...

His eyes snapped open and widened when a sudden thought occurred to him. He looked behind him where he remembered where Rukia was last seen standing. But there was no one behind or around them.

Nimaiya-dono whistled. "Are you looking for Rukia-chan? She had already went ahead of you."

What? Byakuya almost spoke that question out loud. He couldn't believe himself. How could he not notice if his little sister had already left his side?

The sudden flare of reiatsu caught his attention immediately. Without a word Byakuya turned away from Nimaiya-dono and raced to the Phoenix Palace, to where Rukia is.


"Hado no 33: Soukatsui!"

Rukia fired a blue ball of energy at her target. It fell, but another came up.

'Do these things ever take a break?' She wondered, panting, exhausted from using too much spirit energy to attack them. She had no time to recite a full incantation as more souls appeared and started advancing towards her. According to what Mera-chan had described to her, they are souls manifested from the zanpakuto's rage. The Asauchi.

Renji and Ichigo fought them, Rukia recalled what Mera-chan had revealed to her. She briefly glanced upward at the opening where Nimaiya-dono's assistant was standing. She flashed back to the words she spoke to her minutes ago.

"Only one of them stood a chance against the asauchi." Mera-chan said. "I can't remember his name; he had his red hair tied up into a long, spiky ponytail and had tribal-looking tattoos all over his face and neck."

"Renji?" Rukia was both surprised and relieved. "He made it."

Mera-chan grinned sadistically, crossing her arms over her chest. "But the orange-haired substitute shinigami didn't. He got sent back."

"Ichigo?"

Her grin got wider. "It'll be the same for you if you don't survive in this palace."

Rukia still couldn't believe that Ichigo got sent back... where exactly? To Seireitei, or to Kurakara town? She wasn't sure. The asauchis pounced on her before she could ask Mera-chan any further. She had to find out where Ichigo was sent to. Renji was probably doing well in his next palace. If she can survive this stage, like him, she'd catch up to him meet him there, the next palace, wherever it is.

Rukia was too distracted by her thoughts, she didn't notice an asauchi creeping up behind her. He leaped upon her, and delivered a blow behind her head.

"Ugh!" The impact caused Rukia to fall onto the floor, wincing. She slowly reopened her eyes, she saw the other asauchis jumped up, intending to crush her with their bodies and suffocating her to death.

'No!' Rukia couldn't move, her body froze with fear and panic. She shut her eyes tightly and braced herself...

She felt a breeze, and a pair of warm arms carrying her away. She heard a sound of heavy bodies being piled up one after the other. There was no pain, she caught a familiar scent of sakura next to her.

She snapped her eyes open, and stared up to her saviour. "Nii-sama!"


This chapter is pretty short. I'll update chapter 8 soon. Hope you enjoy reading this chapter.