Chapter Eight: A Sleeve as White as Snow

Sasuke couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned on his uncomfortable bed in the boys' room of the house the ninja were staying in. Only one other person was awake, and that was Gaara, an insomniac. Gaara stayed out on the roof, brooding about how he wished he was still alive.

Finally, at five o'clock, Sasuke slipped out of the room and went to the training grounds. He started jogging around, only subconsciously aware of how much extra energy he had. What should I say when she comes? Is my hair all right? I should've changed my uniform like everyone else, black is such a boring color… Thoughts raced around in his head as he continued his workout.

"Good morning, Sasuke!"

Sasuke's stomach fluttered. "Good morning, Rukia," he said , spotting her diminutive figure.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.

Sasuke shrugged. "That's okay. I woke up early."

As Rukia led him around Soul Society, he listened with rapture to every word she spoke. "Outside this gate is Rukongai, the outer city where most of the souls live. Renji and I used to live there as well, before we became Soul Reapers."

"Really?" Sasuke said, concealing his annoyance. Why was Renji with her?

Rukia nodded. "That's the place where you and your friends were found as well."

Unpleasant memories came back to Sasuke. "The…Rukongai is really poor, yet Seireitei is much wealthier and cleaner. Why can't the people in Seireitei help the people in Rukongai?"

Rukia paused. "I don't know," she admitted. "That's a good idea. I should tell my brother." Sasuke and Rukia suddenly heard screams. "It's a Hollow!" someone yelled. "Help!"

Rukia unsheathed her zanpakuto and ran off in the direction of the screams, Sasuke following closely behind. He soon saw a monster with a gigantic hole in its chest and a white mask on its face. Is that the Hollow? he thought. It sure is ugly.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia yelled. Sasuke watched, transfixed, as her zanpakuto became totally white with a long white ribbon dangling from the pommel. "First Dance, White Moon!"

The Hollow backflipped out of the way as a circle of ice appeared underneath it. "Next Dance, White Ripple!" Rukia commanded. A wave of ice blasted outward from her zanpakuto's blade, which the Hollow jumped over. Leaping into the air, she slashed at the Hollow's mask. "Hyyyaaaahhh!"

Unfortunately, before she could hit the Hollow, it grasped her zanpakuto in its claws and flipped it away. Sasuke rushed forward, watching as the Hollow prepared to finish off Rukia. I can do this without releasing my zanpakuto. That jerk Orochimaru was at least good at swordsmanship.

While the Hollow was distracted, Sasuke hacked at one of its legs. It howled in pain as it came crashing down to the ground. Rukia yelled, "Slice his head in half!"

Sasuke did, and the Hollow vanished. Rukia came up to him, beaming. "That was amazing swordsmanship! Better even than Ichigo Kurosaki's! Renji didn't teach you that, did he?"

"No. Someone else did." A creepy freak with an overgrown tongue, bleached skin, and a sword in his stomach, that is.

"Thank you for saving me." Rukia blushed again. She looked at the sky. "It's almost noon. Would you like to eat lunch?"

"Okay." In his mind, Inner Sasuke shouted, Score! I finally got a date!

Sasuke had felt nervous when Rukia led him to the Kuchiki main house, but she assured him that most of her family members were either out doing Soul Reaper duty or eating lunch inside. They snuck through the mansion to a small garden with cherry trees all around.

"This is Byakuya's private garden," Rukia explained as she brought out lunchboxes. "No one is allowed to come in here except for him and me. Did I tell you? My sister was Byakuya's wife, and when she died, I was adopted into the Kuchiki family."

"So you're not biologically related, then."

"No."

Sasuke marveled at how delicious the lunch was. Rukia turned pink as she mumbled she had cooked it herself. "You're strong, good at cooking, and beautiful. Is there anything you can't do?" Sasuke clapped his hand over his traitorous mouth. He meant to tease her, but the part about being beautiful slipped out unintentionally. Oh no, she's going to think I'm a jerk or something bad…

Rukia flushed even more. "Actually, I…I think you're really handsome, Sasuke," she said, her words coming out in a jumble.

They began to lean towards each other. This is it, Sasuke thought.

Footsteps sounded loudly outside the door. "Rukia? Are you in there?"

"Shoot!" Rukia whispered. She looked at Sasuke. He nodded and jumped onto the rooftop. Rukia waved her hand, smiling at him, and opened the door. "Yes?"

"Captain Ukitake said he had a mission for you."

"Oh," Rukia said disappointedly. "Tell him I'm coming. Don't wait for me!" she said, with a little too much emphasis. Sasuke got the hint and, slightly depressed, exited the Kuchiki grounds.