A/N: Sorry that it took so long to get done, but here's the new chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Sitting in the classroom, Rukia eagerly awaited for it to end. Because today was the first day, all her classes had consisted of lectures on what to expect and rules of the academy. Even so, she found this whole experience to be exciting. For the first time in her life, she wore clean clothes that weren't tattered. Meals were provided without having to steal it or rummage through garbage cans. And most of all, she now had a room to reside. During her life in Inuzuri, she'd had to make do with living anywhere that was convenient, as she had no actual home. Coming to this academy was like a haven all itself for someone like her.
Byakuya had been right in his assumptions when he said she would easily make it into the academy. Not only did she have impressive spiritual energy, she had already manifested her zanpakuto and was efficient at flash step, though she still had much to learn. Even though she had her zanpakuto, it was still an ordinary weapon since she still did not know her zanpakuto's name.
A bell rang to signal the end of class. As she tried to make her way out the door behind the rest of the students, she found it crowded. Some of the students had stopped in the doorway and she could hear their whispers.
"Look at him, he's so handsome." Some girls whispered in excited voices to their friends who then squealed in agreement.
Pushing through the students, she broke through at the front and saw who was attracting so much attention. The 'handsome boy' sat on the railing on the opposite side of the corridor, looking out at the Seireitei as a way of ignoring the attention.
She walked over to him. "What are you doing here?"
Byakuya glanced at her. "Just happened to be in this area, thought I'd drop by to check on you."
"Umm-hmm. Sure you were." She grinned when he glared at her blunt sarcasm.
Before either could respond, a conversation from a group of boys caught their attention. "Isn't that the Kuchiki heir? What is he doing over here among the likes of us?" One of them said.
"He probably came over here to show off, as if he's better than us."
"Just because he's a noble he thinks he's so powerful. Don't look like there's anything special about him." They snickered.
"Wha—"Angry, Byakuya made a move to confront them, but Rukia held him back. "Leave it, they're just jealous." When he tried to shake her off, she pulled him into a headlock, successfully restraining him.
"Who does she think she is?" One of the girls who'd been in awe of Byakuya glared at Rukia, whispering to her friends. "That ugly girl is nothing yet she touches Kuchiki-sama and addresses him informally." The entire group of girls looked at her in hatred.
Sighing, Rukia flash stepped away across the rooftops, still restraining Byakuya who was thrashing in anger. Once a good distance away, she released him. Turning to face her, he glared at her and yelled. "What the hell?!"
"It's unnecessary to start meaningless fights." She was having a weird sense of déjà vu. Wasn't this situation and conversation similar to the way they first met?
"I was about to teach those brats a lesson. They dare to mock me."
She sighed. His hot temper would be the bane of her existence. For all his talent, he would go off like a canon at the smallest things."What would your grandfather say about this?" Her question broke through his anger, causing them to settle into silence.
Though she didn't personally know the current Kuchiki head, Byakuya talked about him a lot. Mostly in admiration. Byakuya did his best not to do anything that would shame the family his grandfather held so highly which would cause him to degrade himself to someone he respected so much.
Breaking the awkward silence, they decided to train together on the Kuchiki grounds. This soon became their usual routine. However, to avoid unnecessary conflict with jealous students, she went to meet him instead of him coming to get her. She didn't have much else to do during her free time since so many disliked her due to envy of her friendship with the Kuchiki heir. Byakuya was busy from time to time, so they often had to skip some days training together.
As her second year in the academy began, they decided to start training on calling her zanpakuto into shikai form. She had tried many times to contact her zanpakuto spirit. Though she'd gotten glimpses of a strange voice in her dreams, it was only a fleeting moment.
Standing in the middle of the Kuchiki training grounds, Rukia took on a fighting stance with zanpakuto in hand. Across from her, Byakuya drew his sword. Despite having been training together for a while now, this would be the first time they raised swords at each other with intention to inflict wounds. In order for her to hear her zanpakuto's name, she would have to be under the pressure of battle in a life or death situation.
Making the first move, she charged at him with sword raised. The sound of steel continuously clashing filled the silence of the training yard. Rukia soon began to become tired as Byakuya overpowered her. Her ability to keep up with Byakuya's attacks became lesser and lesser. She'd always known that he was very skilled at flash step, but now she was baring witness to it and fully understood. He'd never really used it against her aside from the occasional race through the Seireitei for the heck of it. Even now, he used barely a third of the speed he was truly capable of, but her ability still paled in comparison to his minimal speed. Before she could land an attack, his sword would already score an attack on her body before she could really react, slices appearing in her shihakusho by the second.
Panting heavily, Rukia dropped to her hands and knees as she drew in large breaths. Blood was beginning to stain her uniform, some drops falling onto the ground in small puddles.
A short distance away from her, Byakuya looked down at her. She felt a bit irritated that she'd been beaten to this in a matter of minutes. And what hurt her pride even more was that he hadn't even released his shikai.
Her vision suddenly became hazy and then darkness. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself laying on her back on something soft. Sitting up, her breath was taken away by the beauty of the scenery around her. What she'd been laying on was soft white snow that seemed to cover the entire ground. She obviously wasn't on the Kuchiki grounds anymore because all that surrounded her was pillars of ice that looked like crystal towers. In the center of the night sky above was a large full moon that shone down on her surroundings, making the snow glow a pure white and cause the towers of ice to give off a high luster.
Despite all the snow and ice, Rukia wasn't a tad bit cold. Instead, it all seemed to comfort her.
A soft feminine voice broke the silence of the night. "Rukia." The call of her name was like a melody which was so familiar.
Following the direction of the voice, Rukia found a woman standing behind her. She was probably one of the most beautiful women Rukia had ever seen with long, pale blue hair clipped to the left side of her head at the front, while it hung loose on the right with a shorter cut. She was dressed in a white and light blue kimono that seemed to match the surroundings.
"You're the voice in my dreams." Rukia's eyes widened at the realization.
The woman gave her a soft smile. "You have heard my voice, but not my name. Do you wish to know?"
"Of course."
"Do you have the strength and will to possess such a name as mine? Are you deserving?" A strong gust of cold wind hit her.
Rukia did not back down. Despite the stinging coldness of the pelting snow and ice against her skin, her voice was loud and clear as she spoke. "Of course."
"Then call my name. I am—"
Rukia suddenly found herself back on the Kuchiki training grounds. Ignoring the pains of her injuries, she stood and faced Byakuya. She held out her zanpakuto in front of her and turned in a circle counter-clockwise. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." The entire sword became a pure white color as a white ribbon formed from the pommel.
She held it upside down in front of her. "Some no Mai, Tsukishiro." The zanpakuto began to glow as a circle area formed around Byakuya, giving the appearance of a full moon. Making a slashing motion with her sword, the area began to freeze upwards then shot up into the sky as a glowing light which soon became an ice pillar.
As it cracked and shattered, she saw Byakuya standing in the middle, unscathed. The blade petals of Senbonzakura floated around in a flurry, having protected him from becoming frozen. Sheathing his zanpakuto, he walked over to her with a smile. "That was great. You did it."
Smiling, she thanked him before her vision suddenly became blurred and she collapsed to the ground then fell into unconsciousness.
A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review. My apologies if it's a bit lame, I wanted to get this chapter out quick, so it was rushed.
