Chapter 3
Ichigo Kurosaki was never, ever, comfortable with sitting around. He may have given off the appearance in class, sometimes. His hair and general 'delinquent' looks didn't help. It made it look like he didn't care, that he was fine with not doing anything. Just sitting around and ignoring everything around him. It was his own fault. Yet...none of that really mattered. What he looked like wasn't what he was.
"Goddamnit, this sucks."
He absolutely hated having to sit around, doing nothing. He itched to get up and move around. To jog or to fight. Much as he hated the responsibility that Rukia had thrust on him- at first -he had enjoyed the chance to get out. There was something about running around as a Shinigami that just felt right to him. And now, he couldn't do any of that. He was stuck in a silent room, with nothing to do and no one to talk to. No one, except for the sword in his head.
Which, honestly, was probably why he was sitting on the side of a skyscraper, covered in snow.
"You know, Shirayuki," Ichigo spoke up, unconsciously shortening the Zanpakutō's name. He looked over at the woman, standing with her back to him. "I'm pretty sure the mountains are new."
Sode no Shirayuki twitched, ever so slightly. Her melodious voice echoed in a deep sigh, though she kept her face hidden. "Ichigo...when you called my name, you realize what it meant, yes?"
"That you'd become my Zanpakutō and that I'd lose my own, yeah." Ichigo shrugged. He had known, honestly, since the moment he first met her. Something at the back of his mind, itching and asking to be released. She had just put it into words. "I'm guessing that's why this place looks different? Not that it wasn't freaky to begin with."
"Oh, Ichigo," A small laugh echoed over the snowy building. In the distance, mountains had overtaken many of its brothers. Mountains capped by ice and snow. "Only you would make light of this situation, in such a way. This is not something that happens. It never has happened."
Ichigo shrugged again, "So I'm a freak."
That, more than anything, finally prompted Sode no Shirayuki to turn around. Her pale features twisted into a frown, and her icy-blue eyes narrowed. If the wind picked up a little more, and snow drifted down upon them, neither Zanpakutō nor Shinigami commented upon it. Sode no Shirayuki was too busy glaring at Ichigo, really.
"You are not a freak, Ichigo." Her soft voice practically radiated with the coldness of her words. "If anything, you are a very special individual. I would not have so easily told my name to anyone else."
"Did you really have a choice?"
The Zanpakutō sighed, softly. "There is always a choice. I know Byakuya Kuchiki. He would not have killed you, nor allowed Abarai to do so. If I had kept silent, at worst, you would have lost your powers and I would have returned to Rukia."
Silence. Ichigo stared at the Zanpakutō spirit, and she stared at him. Nothing, save for the rushing wind, made a noise. They both waited for the other to say something. It was only a matter of a minute, or so, though it felt like an eternity.
Until Ichigo finally broke the silence, his scowl firmly in place. "Then why'd you talk to me? Why didn't you just go back to Rukia?"
"I-" Sode no Shirayuki turned her eyes away, looking anywhere but at Ichigo's face. Her words were much weaker, now. "You must understand, Ichigo. For a Zanpakutō, there is nothing more important than being used. We exist to help our wielders. To fight by their sides, and protect them, as they protect us. You...you understood that. You always fought to protect." Weakly shaking her head, the Zanpakutō spirit still refused to look up. "Rukia was my wielder. She was the other half of my soul. And..."
Turning her eyes back up, Sode no Shirayuki showed Ichigo the wetness held within. Already turning to crystals of ice, upon her frozen face.
"Rukia stopped using me. She fought with Kido. She only fought with my sealed form,as a last resort. She refused to use my Shikai. I...I do not blame her, yet, that is the greatest betrayal a Shinigami can give to their Zanpakutō."
Ichigo frowned deeply. He crossed his arms over his chest, and nodded along with her words. "So. You came to me because I actually used you?"
"It is not that simple," the Zanpakutō protested.
Her words fell on deaf ears. For Ichigo just walked over to her, somehow not slipping once on the ice or snow. He stopped right in front of Sode no Shirayuki, looking directly into her eyes. His lips twisted into his customary scowl, as much as into a frown. His fists were by his side, clenching as if they were holding onto a blade. Her blade. He truly did care about her, didn't he? It was a...strange feeling. Rukia had always been proud of her, before-before Shiba. That pride had never quite translated into care, however. Ichigo was more unique than he knew.
Even in this world of silent buildings and cold mountains, Sode no Shirayuki felt warmth.
"This is about that Shiba guy again, isn't it?" Ichigo spoke up, his voice clipped with annoyance. One of his hands reaching up to brush through his orange locks. "Rukia killed him with you, right?"
Ah. Yes, I did tell him about that. And Ichigo has proven very perceptive.
So, with a nod, Sode no Shirayuki acknowledged his point. "Yes. Rukia has, ever since, been afraid of me. Afraid of my blade and my power. It is why she did not use me against the Hollow that nearly killed your family."
"Figured." Ichigo snorted, shaking his head. "I was wondering why she didn't, now that I know about you." Staring at her eyes, once again, Ichigo frowned. "You know, I don't blame you for any of this. I don't even care about my Zanpakutō."
On the one hand, such a casual dismissal of what should have been his powers worried Sode no Shirayuki. On the other hand, it warmed her cold heart. Because it wasn't Ichigo dismissing his own powers as worthless. It was Ichigo reaffirming that she was what mattered to him. Not his own blade. Not even Rukia. Her.
"Ichigo, you are a very strange boy." Sode no Shirayuki couldn't help the smile, crossing her face. "Do you truly feel that way about me? Am I truly your Zanpakutō now?"
For the first time, Ichigo's scowl faded into a confident smirk. He stuck his hand out, holding it before the Zanpakutō. "You're my Zanpakutō now, Shirayuki. I promise I'll treat you like you deserve, and we'll be partners. Yeah?"
Sode no Shirayuki looked down at the hand, and back at Ichigo's face. With a smile of pure gratitude on her face, she took his hand. "Thank you, Ichigo. Truly, you do not understand what this means to me."
"It's no big deal. We're in this together, aren't we?" Ichigo shot back, smirk firmly in place as he strongly shook her hand.
"Together?" Sode no Shirayuki's own smile widened. She took advantage of Ichigo's grip, to pull him flush against her body.
Fighting back a little giggle of laughter at the panicked- and red-faced -look he sent her way, Sode no Shirayuki held him close. Her other hand reaching down to grab his waist, holding the flustered teenager against her. If they were going to work together...
"Ichigo. I cannot claim to know what the power of your Zanpakutō would have been." Sode no Shirayuki leaned down, her breath ghosting over Ichigo's ear. Frost covered his skin and mist spread out from her breath. All around the pair, snow began to fall with greater strength and the world contracted to the two of them, standing upon a frosted window. "However, to use my power, you must learn to dance."
"Dance? What the hell kind of-"
The Zanpakutō tightened her grip, warningly. "I am not a cudgel, Ichigo. I am an elegant weapon. If you truly, really, intend to be my partner? You must learn to dance with me."
To his credit, the teenager stopped trying to protest. His face remained hot and red, but he allowed Sode no Shirayuki to guide him. The Zanpakutō didn't even try to hide her radiant smile, as she looked up at the cloudy sky. She could get used to the buildings, intruding on her calming mountains and valleys. She could even get used to the calloused hands, holding her own. To the idea of having a man wield her.
For the first time in decades, Sode no Shirayuki felt at peace. At home. Loved.
For the first time in decades, Rukia Kuchiki was truly alone.
She sat in a small cell, deep in her Brother's barracks. Completely isolated from any contact with the outside world. All she could see was a little light from the barred window, and the occasional visit from a youthful Shinigami of the Fourth Squad. He wasn't talkative, nor was she. Rukia didn't much feel like talking to someone she didn't know. Not when the one she should have known the best, a part of her very soul, had left her. Left her and joined Ichigo instead.
Ichigo is my friend. I hurt him dearly, yet, I still consider him that. Even so...this hurts.
No matter what she may have felt for Ichigo, no matter how much of a friend he was, Rukia felt hurt. Betrayed. Sode no Shirayuki was part of her. And she had chosen to stay with Ichigo. She had told Ichigo her name. Let him use her Shikai. That should have been impossible, and yet, here she was. Completely alone.
"Rukia."
Until, that is, her Brother's smooth voice rang out. Rukia turned tired, deadened, violet eyes in his direction. Byakuya stood tall, his Haori swishing around his shoulders. The Captain had an inscrutable expression upon his face. Even Rukia, his sister, could never truly read his emotions. Not when Byakuya was trying to hide them.
"Brother?" Rukia knew her voice was every bit as weak as she felt, when she spoke up. She couldn't do anything about it. "Has something changed?"
Byakuya strode towards her cell, his motions as smooth as silk. He came to a stop, before Rukia, and stared down at her with his dark eyes. "No, nothing has been decided. As of now, you are to remain in this cell, until such time as Central 46 decides your fate."
"Of course, Brother." The short girl sighed, softly. She hadn't really expected anything else-
"However," Byakuya's, now deeper, voice drew her attention once more. His face remained expressionless, despite his slight change in voice. "I believe that your unique circumstances may allow me to push for leniency. Tell me, Rukia. Why did you give that boy your powers?"
Unique...circumstances? Even as she thought that, Rukia knew what her brother meant. She felt her shoulders droop. Ah. Sode no Shirayuki.
"I was on patrol, Brother, when I felt an immense power. It was stronger than any Hollow I have ever faced, and I went to investigate." Rukia, despite everything, couldn't help the smile on her face. The memory of Ichigo's reaction to her appearing in his room. "I met Ichigo there. I didn't realize, at the time, that he was the source of the power. Not until the Hollow appeared and he broke my Kido binding attempting to fight it himself."
All her brother did was stare at her, and incline his head slightly in a non-verbal request to continue. Rukia sucked in a steadying breath, and did so. It wasn't as if this story would hurt anything, beyond her pride and the lingering- barely scabbed over -pain of losing her Zanpakutō.
"The fool tried to sacrifice himself to the Hollow, since he thought it would make it leave his family alone. I-I had to jump in to protect him. The Hollow nearly killed me." Unconsciously, Rukia reached a hand up to rub at her shoulder. The wound was long since gone, though phantom pain never quite left. "At that point, the only choice I had was to transfer some of my power to him. Ichigo was powerful enough to not be killed by it, and it was that or we all died. I only intended to give him a portion of my power."
It was at that point, that Byakuya spoke again. His voice was smooth as ever, even with the undercurrent of disappointment barely hidden beneath it. "You underestimated his strength, and he absorbed more than intended. Am I correct?"
Rukia winced, softly. "Yes, Brother. He took most of my power." Even as she said that, Rukia's eyes widened. She flung her hands up, more energy in her body than there had been for some time. "Though it wasn't intentional! It was an accident!"
She nearly panicked, when she added that last bit on. No matter what she felt about Sode no Shirayuki and her Zanpakutō abandoning her for Ichigo...she didn't want either of them to die. Ichigo was the closet thing she'd had to a true friend, since Renji had left and Kaien had died. She would never, ever, stop feeling guilt if he died for her mistakes. Even if she died in turn, she would go to the grave filled with guilt. She, selfishly, didn't want that. She, selflessly, didn't want Ichigo to die for her. No. She'd had more than enough of people dying for her mistakes.
A flash of Kaien Shiba's bloody, disintegrating, face flashed before her eyes.
"Such is what the boy told me," Byakuya, mercifully, forced her mind away from that particular memory. He had crossed his arms over his chest, his imperious gaze looking down upon his sister. "If nothing else, the two of you tell the same tale. Should I believe, then, that all of this...was an accident?"
"It was," Rukia wished her voice was stronger. That it hadn't come out almost as a plaintive whine. Because, the fact was, it all had been an accident. "...maybe."
"Maybe?" Byakuya repeated, softly.
Rukia couldn't look him in the face. She figured he already knew what she had meant, anyway. Everything had been an accident. Everything...except, maybe, Sode no Shirayuki leaving her.
"Brother, why are you asking all of this?" In an effort to avoid thinking of that, Rukia looked at her Brother and asked the obvious question. "Are you going to talk to Central 46 yourself?"
Byakuya nodded, easily. His long hair shifted with the motion, covering how his lips thinned in distaste. "I had intended to do so, yes. As the Head of the Kuchiki Clan, it is my duty to inform Central 46 of everything to do with a member of the Clan. For a crime such as this, it is highly important that I provide all the information they could require."
Crime. I knew it was one, even when I suggested it to Ichigo. I...I can't believe that saving his life was a crime.
Shaking her head, Rukia pushed that thought away. It did her exactly no good, right now. "I've told you everything, Brother. That fool didn't know what he was getting into, when he took my powers."
"All of your powers," her Brother corrected. His eyes were narrowed in thought. "Have you been able to perform Jinzen, even for a moment?"
Jinzen. The act of communicating with one's Zanpakutō in their Inner World. Rukia had tried, the very moment she was placed in this cell. She could enter her Inner World, however, the mountains and snowy valleys were gone. There was nothing left but for an endless expanse of water. She still didn't know, what that meant. Why her Inner World had changed to a featureless ocean. She did know one thing, however.
Sode no Shirayuki was gone.
"...Sode no Shirayuki is not in my soul, Brother. Th-" Rukia couldn't stop herself from choking up, her voice cracking. It still hurt. "There's nothing left of her. Just emptiness."
Her Brother was silent, staring down at her with his arms crossed. One hand slowly moving down, a finger tapping the hilt of his own Zanpakutō. Rukia didn't know if he realized he was doing it. She knew what he was thinking, though. How he would act, if his own Zanpakutō was taken from him. To never have that voice whisper in his mind. To feel as if part of his soul was gone. She knew the feeling, all too well, now. Part of her doubted that hole would ever be filled. How could it? You didn't get a second chance.
You didn't get another blade. Another part of your very being, that was with you from the moment you were born, to the moment you died.
"I see." Finally speaking again, Byakuya let his hands drop. He shook his head, minutely. "I will need to continue working with the boy, then. If he is to have your Zanpakutō, I will be certain that he takes proper care of it. Until such a time as we can return it to you."
"Brother?" Rukia blinked, staring at her sibling. What was he...? "Are you...are you trying to keep Ichigo alive, too?"
Byakuya nodded, slightly. "He possess your Zanpakutō, Rukia. I will not see something so precious to you destroyed. Until, and unless, Central 46 decrees it must be so." If he noticed her wince or not, he didn't show it. No. He simply turned to walk from the room. He stopped, when reaching the door. His eyes turned back towards her, deadly serious. "Until that time, the both of you are under the protection of the Kuchiki Clan."
With that, he left. Rukia was alone again.
Perhaps, though, not as alone as she had thought.
AN: ...I'm making a habit of Byakuya leaving the room with parting shots. Ah well.
Anyhoo, apologies about this. I've probably gone through a dozen or more revisions on this chapter before I was satisfied with it. Toss in work killing all desire to do anything and needing to focus on my SV stuff and...yeah. But we're here now.
I will note, though:
There is one major change from the second version of this story, and for that matter, the original challenge that spawned this idea in the first place. Rukia will not get Sode no Shirayuki back. It is not a spoiler to say this. Unlike in the previous versions, I will not be going the route of 'they can use each other's blades'. I won't comment on Zangetsu (other than to say Rukia isn't getting him either), but I will say that.
Rukia will not get her sword back. Shirayuki is Ichigo's Zanpakutō now. For better or worse.
Where does that leave Rukia, then? Well, that will be a spoiler.
(another thing to note: Rukia is my favorite character, other than Senna, in Bleach. I'm not bashing her at all here. However, one of the reasons this went through so many revisions was coming up with a justification for why Shirayuki would leave her for Ichigo.
What I came up with is a logical extrapolation of Rukia's actions after Kaien died, viewed through the flashbacks, her fight with the Espada!Kaien, and the Zanpakutō Arc.)
