Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
Announcement: Let me start off by saying something that I completely forgot to add while I was rushing to post my last chapter. Happy Newyear everyone! I hope you will all have a happy and healty 2010! And once more let me add to that that I appreciate your awesome support during the writing of this story. You guys keep inspiring me to come up with new ideas and to keep the chapters coming as fast as possible with my limited time available at this moment.
HiddenMaster: To tell you the truth I'm not entirely sure about it yet. The idea somehow just came to me and while it would certainly be interesting it would require me to change basically the entire storyline I had planned out from here untill the end. It's not that I necessarily mind that it's just that it's a lot of work. Right now I still feel my other options are better but the idea hasn't completely been thrown out of the window just yet.
Ghostknight: I'm sorry but I'm afraid I've already worked out Rukia's Bankai months ago. It really was one of the first things I started thinking about before I even started writing the story. So really, no matter how awesome a Bankai anyone can come up with, Rukia's Bankai is one of the things I am not willing to change. I like what I came up with, wether you like it or not? I hope so but I'll have to wait and find out to be sure.
DarkJason: Thank you very much! And the same to you obviously. As for the rating change, to be honest it's mostly because for some reason I have received quite some grief over the months about my story being M-Rated. With the amount of violence and gore I personally believe it should be M as I have read dozens of other M-Rated stories that did not include any lemons or other overly sexual acts. I'm curious now though, do you believe it should be M-Rated?
As for the Rukia's Bankai, I'm not really willing to reveal too much about it just yet but I suppose I can give you a little sneak preview. First of all she will learn to control her Bankai in time. This, meaning that at first while it will certainly be powerful she will not be able to wield even close to it's full potential just yet. As was hinted at in the series, mastering a Bankai often takes years and years of practise and while I'm not saying that she will even master it at all in my story she will certainly become very adept with it at one point or another. Secondly, and this is the last thing I will reveal about it for the time being, Rukia's Bankai will share some, however small, similarities with both Ichigo's (Or Isshin's in this case) and Byakuya's Bankai.
Chapter 15: Final Release.
"What is it, Rukia?" Shirayuki asked her.
"You have something I want." Rukia replied.
Sode no Shirayuki merely looked at curiously. Of course, Rukia knew that she understood and so she just patiently awaited her reply.
"And what may that be, Rukia?" Shirayuki finally asked her.
It was time. Rukia knew she wouldn't get any more ready then she already was. Not with the amount of time she had to prepare for the war. Her brother had helped her, Renji had helped her, her Captain had helped her despite the fact that she turned down his proposition to become his Lieutenant. Despite the fact that she had given an excuse as lame as the fact that she didn't want to spend the time required to be a good Lieutenant. Her Captain had understood. He had understood how important this was and he supported her. She had precious people who depended on her, depended on her to complete her training and depended on her to come out of it alive. She would do it for them, and for Ichigo.
"Bankai."
Rukia could see the playful smile spreading across Shirayuki's face. She knew, of course that Shirayuki had known what Rukia was going to ask from her even before she had asked. She was her Zanpakutou's Spirit for a reason, she always knew what was on Rukia's mind and while Shirayuki could be very playful at times she was certainly one of the most kind-hearted individuals Rukia knew. Turning her eyes back to Shirayuki, Rukia noticed that the playful smile had dissapeared and that it had been replaced by one a gravely serious one.
"Bankai?" Shirayuki asked, though Rukia got the impression she was asking herself rather then Rukia as she was staring down at the ground. Slowly however, Shirayuki shook her head and raised her head so that their eyes met. "And you do you truly believe that you are ready to achieve Bankai, Rukia?"
It was the question Rukia had pondered over for many hours the last couple of days, and of course Shirayuki knew this too. At first Rukia believed she was absolutely ready and that postponing it would only cost her in the end. She had often discussed the prospect of her Bankai training together with her brother, who kept telling her that she should not take her training for Bankai lightly. She knew of course that she shouldn't but on the other hand she believed she could do it, after all, hadn't she improved by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks? Hadn't she proven that she could be a very capable Shinigami if only she put in the effort required and was guided by someone who knew what he was talking about.
No, she never really doubted that she was ready. That is, untill that one day, when her and her brother were training together and he asked her a question she did not have the answer to.
[Flashback:]
Rukia sped towards her brother, deciding to take the fight to him for a change, she had been on the defense for too long during their recent sparring session. As she reached him she immediately lashed out at him with a horizontal swipe. Her brother just stood in front of her, unmoving before dissapearing right in front of her eyes.
A disturbance in the air behind her alarmed Rukia who instantly ducked and whirled around on her heels only to lay eyes upon the figure of her brother, standing mere inches from her. Realising that now would be the time to attempt a counterattack she thrust her Zanpakutou forward only for it to be blocked by the flat side of her brother's Senbonzakura. Not wanting to leave it at a single attack she retracted her blade and, with proficient use of Shunpo only known to Byakuya, Yoruichi and now Rukia she dashed past her brother slashing at his shoulder joint as she passed him. Not giving up after she heard the clang of metal hitting metal she instantly turned around again and started a long series of swipes and thrusts only for all of them to be dodged save the last one, which was blocked. Nonetheless she tried her very best to overpower her brother only for him to silently chant two words.
"Chire, Senbonzakura."
Alarmed, Rukia instantly jumped in order to create some distance between the two of them. Seeing her brother's Zanpakutou dissolve in pink cherry blossoms caused her to regain her senses and reevaluate her strategy. Deciding upon a tactic that might just work she punctured the ground once, creating a glow ice circle around her, she then punctured the ground in front of her four more times, creating a semi-circle. Taking up a battle stance she looked back towards her brother only to find that her vision was blocked by thousands of pink blade fragments that were no more then a second away from impacting with her.
"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!"
Not having build up enough ice-particles for the attack to be as powerful as she had wished she fired a small path straight through her brother's Senbonzakura just a little bigger then she herself was but enough to keep her out of immediate danger. Already she was trying to figure out a way to take the fight back to her brother but much to her surprise her thoughts were cut off as Senbonzakura's cherry blossoms retreated back towards her brother, into the scabbard of his Zanpakutou, reforming his sword.
"That's enough, Rukia." He said to her, leaving no question about the fact that they were done.
Rukia merely nodded in reply as she studied the face of her brother. Not once before had he stopped their sparring sessions prematurely. They usually went on before Rukia, or in some occassions, both of them, started to tire out. She could clearly see her brother had something on his mind but before she got a question to ask about it he locked eyes with her and spoke.
"I have a question for you, Rukia." He spoke, surprising her. While her brother often gave her advice on how to do things better, on how to improve or how to act in front of others he did not often ask any questions to her. She nodded at him, signifying for him to go on. "Your Zanpakutou," He said, before pausing a second. "Your Zanpakutou's abilities they take a while to use."
Rukia could only nod in reply again. Of course, she'd known this ever since she first spoke to Shirayuki, it was one of the disadvantages of her Zanpakutou, while her abilities were by no means weak, they took a while to be unleashed. "Most Zanpakutou are able to unleash their abilities almost instantly and those that can't often have some sort of delay in using the ability, much like yours. Only in those cases those abilities are extremely powerful, hence why they take so long to be used. While your Zanpakutou's abilities are certainly powerful they do not fall under the category that I just mentioned." He explained.
Now this did worry Rukia. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her Zanpakutou but perhaps she had been wrong in assuming that she had already mastered her Shikai. Perhaps there was more to her Zanpakutou then she had thought at first. She already possessed two abilities and she just assumed that would be it, but she never asked, she never even considered the fact that perhaps she needed to refine them even further.
"Rukia," Her brother's voice called out to her, pulling her from her thoughts. "Are you certain that you've mastered your Shikai?"
[Flashback]
Back then, she hadn't answered her brother's question. Not because she didn't want to, but because she was starting to doubt the answer she had thought she knew all this time. But her brother hadn't inquired on it any further. He had understood the necessity of her achieving Bankai and while she knew he didn't want to lose her she was certain he had faith in her abilities. Shirayuki's earlier question however made her start to doubt herself even further. How could she ever hope to achieve Bankai if she hadn't even mastered her Shikai yet?
Should she wait? Wait untill she was more certain of herself and her abilities? The test that would determine if she was ready to wield Bankai would likely be harsh and cruel. It could be a one-time offer and it could even cost her her life. But she wouldn't know the true contents of the test untill it started, and once started, there was no going back.
She wondered what Ichigo would have done in her situation. The answer came to her before she even started to think about it. Ichigo would have pushed forward, he would've given it his all and he would never have given up if failing meant that he wouldn't be able to protect his loved ones. He would've willingly paid any price to ensure the survival of his friends and family. He wouldn't care about losing another opportunity to attain Bankai and nor would he care about dying while trying to achieve it. No, that wasn't right. He would care because he wouldn't be able to protect if he died, he would simply choose not to die. He would come out of the test beaten and bruised but alive and succesful.
Rukia would take his example. She would give it her all. She wouldn't fail no matter what. So what if she hadn't mastered her Shikai yet? Then she would just master her Shikai and attain Bankai all at once! She wasn't about to give up just because of one minor set back. She had come too far for that. What had she trained for these past weeks? To make sure that all of her friends and loved ones came out of this war alive no matter the cost! She would do it for her brother, for Renji, for Ishida, Chad and Inoue, for Isshin and Ichigo's sisters, she would do it for her Captain and she would do it for Nel and Ichigo. But one thing she refused to do was give up. She would not fail. She would come out of this test, alive and succesful!
With renewed determination she raised her head and looked Shirayuki straight in the eyes.
"I'm ready and I will not fail!"
Mere seconds after she'd spoken those words her eyes closed and darkness claimed her.
=0=
Nel was seated in one of the few gardens of Las Noches, surrounded by the smell of fresh grass and pink leaves of the blossoming trees all around her. She liked to come here as it was a nice change from the depressing desert of Hueco Mundo. She reckoned it was one of the few things that had actually made it worth it to join Aizen. Not only had he created a bright blue sky with a sun shining down upon Las Noches, he had also created a handful of small gardens within the Capital city. Of course Nel knew it was all an illusion, fooling the eyes and nose and all the other senses but it was nice nonetheless.
As usual, she had come here again to ponder and think about the events of the past few weeks, she had to admit things had been rather hectic. First off there had been Ichigo's mission to Seireitei. Back when the order had been issued Nel's first train of thought was that Aizen wanted Ichigo dead after all, that his power was too great a risk to try to contain but she had kept quiet. She had had faith in Ichigo's powers and it had been rewarded. Ichigo had returned, albeit not uninjured, with the Shinigami Hinamori Momo whom he was supposed to bring back with him. She remembered how she had got an weird feeling in her stomach when Ichigo had told her that he promised Rukia not to take a single life. He had kept his promise to her despite the fact that it did make his mission a whole lot harder.
Like it did all the time she felt content and satisfied whenever she thought of Ichigo. She had often tried to figure out why this happened but she could not be certain of the reason. While as a Hollow she never truly felt any emotion at all, this all changed after Aizen had used the Hougyoku on her and turned her in an Arrancar. It was as if an entire new world just opened up in front of her eyes. Her perception of everything she saw, thought and felt had changed completely. She realised then that she felt emotions. Things that made her happy, worried, sad and sometimes even angry or jealous. One thing she figured out rather quickly was that whenever she was around Ichigo she was always happy. No matter what it was they were doing, they could just be walking through the halls of Las Noches or lying on the couch in one of their quarters.
At times she wondered if Ichigo felt the same thing as she did. She did think he did. After all he always seemed to enjoy being around her too and even went out of his way to please her which often made the odd feeling in her stomach intensify and sometimes even left her speechless. But she also realised that this...attraction? Is that what she should call it? This attraction also had some negative sides to it.
For one she always went out of her way to make sure Ichigo was safe. Of course she was hardly required to protect him from any bodily harm. She hated to admit it but in terms of raw power, swordmanship, speed and even in terms of a strategic mind Ichigo had long since surpassed her. The role were pretty much reversed now since their first meeting in the Menos Forest. Nonetheless Nel knew that there were some areas in which Ichigo did need protection occassionally. The most recent example of this was his latest mission.
When Ichigo was ordered to fight his father with the intend to kill Nel was enraged. Not at Ichigo, but at Aizen. It was a cruel order one which was made even worse since Ichigo had gotten his memories back. She knew what choice Ichigo would make but she wasn't sure what to think of it herself. One thing Ichigo had always been was a man of his word. He would swear his loyalty to Aizen if Aizen gave him the power he so desired. His wish had been granted and so Ichigo was now bound to Aizen untill he was dismissed or untill either of them died. So logic stated that Ichigo would obey Aizen's order and of course Nel did understand. But at the same time she wanted to save him from the emotional trauma he might've received had he actually killed his father. She confronted Ichigo and perhaps that had been a mistake. She had wanted to tell him not to kill his father but at the last minute the voice of reason told her that wasn't an option. This was likely another one of Aizen's tests, to find out if he was still loyal to Aizen's cause, even after regaining his memories, to find out if he could do what was necessary even if he had a past with the person he was facing. Nel realised that the argument she had about his mission had been unfair to him and it had been completely unreasonable as well.
Luckily, she had received an order from Aizen himself when Ichigo and Isshin's fight was finally drawing to a climax. It had allowed her to save Isshin's life and Ichigo's conscience in the process and she was glad that she had in the end been able to do something about the whole situation.
But it was more then that. She felt like she owed Ichigo. After all Ichigo had saved her life when Szayel, who was supposed to double-cross Nnoitra, double-crossed them instead. He had even taking it upon himself to deliver judgement upon the two ex-Espada causing Szayel to be removed from the Espada and Nnoitra to be exiled after he fled from Las Noches during the aftermath of their battle. But even if she didn't owe Ichigo, she knew she would always do anything she could to make life easier for him, to make him happy. She really wasn't sure what that meant.
Sometimes she wished she still had memories left of before she died. Perhaps then she would know what it was she was feeling. After all, all those living in the real world dealt with emotions daily. But it was hopeless, she had died centuries ago and even if she had any memories left of her time among the living after she was turned into a Hollow, she just couldn't remember. She had thought of asking Ichigo about it, there was a chance that he would know what she was feeling since he hadn't been dead for a very long time yet. Yet, for some reason she was hesitant to do so, she wasn't comfortable with the idea of telling him how he made her feel and she was sure she would be extremely embarrassed if he didn't have that same weird feeling.
"I brought you some lunch," An all too familiar voice called out to her, disrupting her from her thoughts. Raising her gaze she met the eyes of the man she'd been thinking about for the past couple of hours. She smiled at him before she spoke. "Thanks, Ichi, how'd you know I was here?"
He took a moment to reply, taking his time to sit down next to her in the soft grass. "You always come out here when you want some quiet time to think. I don't mind missing you for a couple of hours or giving you some time for yourself but at the very least you shouldn't skip lunch like that."
Looking at the soft and fresh grass beneath her feet she couldn't help but smile softly. She guessed that in the end it really wasn't that she was just looking out for Ichigo, he was looking out for her too. She only hoped they would both come out of the war that was looming on the horizon, alive. "Ah. You're right. I'm sorry, I got lost in thought."
Looking sideways she noticed that Ichigo had an understanding look spread across his face. She was certain that he too, often got lost in thought about many a thing. The war that was coming, how Rukia was doing, Ggio and his training his father, Aizen and she hoped he thought about her too.
"Nel," Ichigo spoke, bring her attention back to him. Turning her head around she noticed he'd taken to sitting with his back against the nearest tree. "Come sit with me, will you?" He asked, a bit uncertain. It was funny, Nel thought, how the powerful, respected and feared Primera Espada could always get rather uncertain when it concerned things like this.
"Of course," She replied, smiling brightly as she got up, walked over to him and sat down again, resting her back against his chest and laying her head against his shoulder. Her earlier thoughts had made her curious however as to what exactly Ichigo could be thinking about these days.
"Ichi," Nel spoke up, to gain his attention. "What are you thinking about?" She chose to ask, not sure if it'd be proper to ask what he'd thought about over the past couple of days. After all, a persons thoughts were their own, it could be considered rude to ask for it. Though, she didn't think Ichigo would ever perceive it as rude, especially not coming from her, while she wasn't exactly sure if Ichigo had those weird feelings in his stomach as well she was certain that she was probably together with Rukia, the most important person in his life.
"Rukia, the upcoming war, you," He replied.
Silence ensued after that. Nel wasn't sure how to continue. They were also subjects she had thought about a lot over the past couple of weeks and she never really knew what she should think of it. For one she didn't really want to go to war. Many people died in wars and it wasn't as if they were going to be fighting the average Hollow residing in the Menos Forest, they were up against Shinigami Captains. The best of the best of Soul Society.
"I'm not sure I want to go to war, Nel," He spoke up, mimicking her thoughts. "I've never battled on such a large scale before. Many Shinigami and Arrancar will die, that's inevitable. I'm confident in my powers but I'm afraid Nel. Afraid that you'll die, afraid that I'll die."
Now this surprised Nel. She knew Ichigo was quite a thinker but she also knew that in the end, he loved the thrill of battle. She didn't think he didn't want to go to war but she was glad that he didn't. And the fact that he didn't want to lose her flattered her, she was glad he felt that way. She did notice though that Ichigo had sounded rather sad and so she decided to attempt to cheer him up. "Ne Ichi," She started, regaining his attention, "At the very least, you won't have to be afraid to lose your life! Your powerful, you defeated two Captains without even releasing, there's may not even be a Captain in Soul Society that can stand up to you!" She exclaimed with a bright smile.
Turned her head to the side she saw a slight smile form on Ichigo's face as he shook his head, but it was gone again before she knew it. "You're wrong." He stated flatly. Much to Nel's surprise, his voice had regained it's former seriousness, making her realise that perhaps it had been the wrong time to joke. But before she could even think of what to say Ichigo already continued. "My father pressured me greatly after he had gone Bankai. I'm not sure if I could've even beaten him without releasing." He explained. Nel had not heard much of the conversation the two had shared during their encounter while she was watching them from the security room but she knew it had been hectic. She wondered what he was trying to say however, he obviously wasn't done yet, which was proven to her a second later. "I know that there are at the very least three Captains in Soul Society who outclass my father, probably by a pretty large margin as well."
Now Nel understood, he comparing them to one another. His father was powerful, already pressing him to release if he wanted to defeat him. But if there were even more powerful Shinigami out there, there may be a chance that Ichigo couldn't beat them. Deciding Nel wanted to know who they were so that she knew when to keep an eye out, should Ichigo ever come up against them in battle. "Who are they?"
"Soul Society's Commander-General, Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni and his two students, Ukitake Jyuushirou and Kyouraku Shunsui. They are the first, thirteenth and eighth Division Captains respectively, and they should not be underestimated. Aizen once told me, that of every Captain in Soul Society he knew about both their Shikai and Bankai but of the aforementioned three he only knew their Shikai's, he could barely describe the abilities of their Shikai. Even worse, the only thing Aizen told me about their Bankai's was that neither of the three had used it in over threehundred years." Ichigo explained.
Nel's mouth instantly fell open. There were figures powerful enough that they hadn't had to go all out for more then threehundred years in Soul Society? Nel didn't know much of Soul Society but she did know that while it knew long periods of peace it also knew many times of conflict and sometimes even all out war. Set aside the times of conflict and war there was always the lone Vasto Lorde that left Hueco Mundo to test his strength in Soul Society. This happened at the very least every fifty years or so, but none had ever returned alive. Nel knew an average Vasto Lorde was more powerful then an average Captain, but she was also certain that the three Shinigami Captains Ichigo had just spoken of were anything but average.
"But enough of that for now, Nel," Ichigo spoke up again, "Let's just enjoy the afternoon for now, according to Aizen-sama, the war is quite a ways off."
Nel nodded in agreement as she grabbed her lunch and settled herself back against Ichigo's chest.
=0=
When Rukia regained consciousness the first thing she noticed was that the ground she was lying upon was very cold. Opening her eyes she found that the entire area around her was completely surrounded by pearl white snow. She instantly realized where she was and what she was doing here. Shirayuki had apparently taken her to her inner world to start the test that would determine if she was ready to be granted Bankai.
Standing up Rukia immediately laid eyes upon the person she was thinking about mere seconds ago. Shirayuki smiled her usual kind smile at Rukia once before it quickly dissapeared and was replaced by an expression of utmost seriousness. "Let me make one thing very clear, Rukia," Shirayuki spoke to her, "I believe it may be a bit too early to take this test right now."
Rukia had feared something like this would happen but she was determined to take the test. She had made up her mind and was now ready and willing to give it her all. She did not however get a chance to speak as Shirayuki quickly continued. "But nonetheless, you have continued to surprise me time and time again. If there is one person who can do this, then it is you, I have faith in you."
Rukia let go of her determined expression for a second to express her gratitude with a soft smile and a nod. She decided not to speak and wait for Shirayuki to continue, which she did, not long after. "The rules are simple; you have to land a fatal blow on me before I land one on you. In other words, kill me before I kill you. Other then that, there is no time limit, you can take as long as you want but the use of Kidou is prohibited you are only allowed to use me and my abilities."
Rukia swallowed heavily as she heard this. She had not known exactly what she could expect, according to her brother the different kinds of tests varied greatly among Shinigami. The only thing they all had in common was that they were all extremely challenging and always put the Shinigami's life at risk.
Believing she understood the rules she nodded at Shirayuki once. "As soon as you decide to draw your Zanpakutou this test will begin, it won't end before you have defeated me or have failed to so, resulting in your unfortunate death." Shirayuki spoke with a small hint of sadness breaking through her stoic demeanor.
Hoping to surprise Shirayuki right off the bet Rukia instantly drew her Zanpakutou and punctured the ground beneath her feet once, she quickly continued to puncture the ground in front of her four more times creating a semi circle around and immediately took a battle stance. "Tsugi no Mai-"
"Tsukishiro!" Shirayuki's voice interupted her and before Rukia got a chance to wonder why Shirayuki had opted to use Tsukishiro when they were so far away from one another a large glowing circle of ice, at least twice as big as Rukia's usually were, erupted beneath her feet. Knowing what would happen next she instantly Shunpo'd away and managed to leave the circle a mere moment before the pillar of ice erupted from the ground.
Rukia knew now that she had been right about two things. First off she had indeed not mastered her Shikai yet as Shirayuki had displayed only moments ago. And secondly this was going to be hard, much harder then she could have anticipated beforehand.
On the other hand, she knew what to do now. One thing was very obvious. One could not possibly defeat his Zanpakutou spirit without being at least equal to it in every way. Since she was prohibited from using Kidou, Rukia had to first master her Shikai abilities to get on an equal footing. So for now no need for direct combat was needed, she needed to keep her distance and figure out how her Zanpakutou Spirit managed to use the dances without doing the actual dance and uttering the complete incantation.
For starters she decided she should just give it a try exactly the way Shirayuki had just displayed.
"Never let your guard down!" Shirayuki's voice interupted her train of thoughts far closer then Rukia would've liked. Raising her head she found Shirayuki mere yards away from her position and Rukia only just in time managed to raise her blade to block Shirayuki's swipe. Ice shattered of the Zanpakutou spirits blade as metal connected with metal but Rukia held her ground. Remember that she had to keep her distance for now she Shunpo'd several yards away and pointed her blade towards Shirayuki once more.
"Hakuren!" Rukia shouted full of determination, only for it to be crushed as a small cloud of snow erupted from the tip of her Zanpakutou. Before she even got the time to figure out what she was doing wrong Shirayuki was on her again launching blow after blow and forcing Rukia on the defensive. "Not good enough! Can you figure it out on your own? Can you figure out how to get on equal footing with me before it is too late?" Shirayuki asked her calmly, all the while continuing her relentless assault.
"I can! And I will!" Rukia shouted out. Determination filling her very being again as the duo locked blades once more. This time however, Rukia almost instantly overpowered the taller Shirayuki and pushed her off, causing her to slide backwards several yards. Deciding this was her chance she tried again, but this time she pumped more reiatsu into the attack.
"Hakuren!" She shouted out once more with her blade pointed towards Shirayuki. But again, no more but a snowcloud erupted from the tip of her Zanpakutou, though it was remarkably bigger. And then it hit Rukia. Her Zanpakutou's abilities were reiatsu based and thus they were remarkably similar to Kidou. And with Kidou the trick was not to pump enough reiatsu into the spell, it was to channel the reiatsu within your body in the right direction. She understood now. Something had felt off the last two times she tried to fire her Hakuren, it was the reiatsu being channeled throughout her body. It wasn't being channeled in the same direction as it always did when she completed the entire dance.
To believe that it was this simple, and it was perfect too. Kidou just so happened to be one of Rukia's specialities. Now she just needed to perform the entire dance once in order to figure out in what direction she should guide her reiatsu and she would be all set to work it out!
Rukia could clearly see the figure of Shirayuki preparing to come at her again but she figured that this may be her only chance at least for a while to come to attempt to figure out the direction in which she needed to channel her reiatsu. Making up her mind she punctured the ground beneath her once causing the all too familiar glowing circle to appear beneath her feet again. Next she punctured the ground in front of her four more times, creating a semi circle, this time paying very close attention to the way in which her reiatsu was being guided. Looking up she saw Shirayuki coming closer and closer, she wasn't sure if she would make it now but there was no going back.
"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" Rukia shouted out just as Shirayuki lashed out with her sword. Before she got a chance to do any serious damage however a large blast of ice burst out of the tip of her Zanpakutou. Knowing what was coming, Shirayuki instantly dodged to the side, barely managing to avoid being hit by the entirety of her own ability but nonetheless her left arm was stuck frozen in the icy blast that Rukia had created.
Rukia at the same time was ecstatic even if this didn't show. She had figured it out completely and was now ready to put her theory to the test. Looking up she found that Shirayuki had already managed to free her arm. Regaining her battle stance, Rukia didn't even notice her arm was bleeding severely from the slash Shirayuki had hit her with a mere moment before Rukia had fired her Hakuren.
=0=
Byakuya was seated next to the bed in which lay the form of his unconscious sister. After Rukia collapsed and her Zanpakutou spirit, Sode no Shirayuki, dissapeared, Byakuya instantly knew what had happened. Sode no Shirayuki had decided Rukia's test should be taken within her Inner World. It was rare, for this kind of test to need to be taken there, but not unheard of. Most of the cases in which this happened the Zanpakutou spirit needed almost complete control of the world around him. Something that was not within their powers in Soul Society.
Byakuya silently scolded himself for not thinking of this earlier so that he could've mentioned it to Rukia. She was likely not as prepared as she could've been for the test that she was undergoing right now for more then one reason. Byakuya knew very well that Rukia had not completely mastered her Shikai or at least that the possibility she hadn't was there. He didn't need her to actually tell him, her silence had spoken volumes. Nonetheless it was not his place to tell her not to take the test just yet. It was her decision and her's alone, the only one even allowed to interfere with that decision would be Sode no Shirayuki. Sadly, according to Rukia's current state, that was not the case.
No more then ten minutes after Rukia had passed out a fairly deep cut had appeared along her left arm and not longer after more and more of them started appearing as well. Though none as severe as the first one. Most of them were just light scratches and shallow cuts along with a bruise here and there. Despite her injuries however Byakuya had reason to believe that she was starting to do better now. She had now been inside her inner world for almost five hours and while the first three had been very taxing on Rukia, hardly any new injuries had appeared during the last two hours. Making Byakuya believe that perhaps she was doing rather well, which if he was being honest with himself, really didn't surprise him.
Over the last few weeks he had gotten to know Rukia better then ever. She truly was a Shinigami with a lot of untapped potential, potential that was slowly but surely being realized. That along with all the hard work and time she had put into her training made him believe that one day she would undoubtedly become one of Soul Society's finest.
The style of Zanjutsu he had been learning her worked absolutely brilliant for her and while she wasn't very proficient with it at first, once she figured out the idea behind it she started improving rapidly. Combine that with the fact that her proficiency with Shunpo was getting dangerously close to Byakuya's level already and her natural talent at Kidou, Byakuya could honestly say that he believed she might one day just surpass him.
But despite Rukia's rapid improvement Byakuya was still hesitant about allowing her to be granted a seated rank. He had given his word of course and he would not go back on it, ever. But with the current rate at which she was improving and the current situation of the Gotei 13 in general, Byakuya was almost certain that she would be called upon to fill one of the open Captain spots as soon as word got out that Rukia had achieved Bankai.
While it was a great honor to be offered such an almost legendary position it also exposed one to much greater danger. Hisane had requested him to care for Rukia and to make sure she stayed safe and becoming a Captain couldn't exactly be called safe. But reason told him that Hisana would understand that at one point or another Rukia would have to start living her own life and be able to make her own choices rather then have them all made for her. But regardless of her rank in the Gotei 13, Rukia's safety along with many others would soon be at risk anyhow.
Byakuya was very troubled by the fact that there had been several Captains who had agreed to take the fight to Aizen. The Commander-General had not said much about it but Byakuya knew that he too was doubtful. That he saw both the advantages and the disadvantages of such an act. But the Commander-General wasn't all powerful, if he was outvoted there was not much he could do about it. All war-time orders were up to all of the Captains to decide together and not a single individual had an absolute say about such matters, not without the Central 46. Byakuya didn't like to admit it but he rather dreaded assaulting the fortress of Las Noches. It wasn't that he wasn't confident of his skills or even of his fellow Captains, no. What he dreaded was not knowing. Not knowing what was waiting for them there, not knowing how large Aizen's forces were, not knowing how powerful his Espada were.
Uncertainty. Zaraki had defeated one of them, despite the fact that Byakuya thought of the man as a brute he couldn't deny the fact that was possibly one of the more powerful Captains. Another one was defeated by the third seat of Zaraki's squad, Madarame Ikkaku. Yet, another one defeated both Soifon and Hitsugaya at the same time and even worse was that that same Hollow defeated Kurosaki Isshin, one of the few men Byakuya would acknowledge as his superior in battle.
Could the difference in power of each member of the Espada be so huge? The Espada were Aizen's elite, the absolute best he had created. Could there be an elite among the elite? And that was without even mentioning the three traitorous Captains themselves. Tousen, Ichimaru and of course, Aizen. In the end, it would come down to thirteen against ten. The ten remaining Gotei Captains against Aizen, Ichimaru, Tousen and their ten Espada. The odds were everything but favorable. In Byakuya's mind Aizen had too much of an advantage, they would be on enemy territory without any knowledge of the amount of forces they had hidden within Las Noches.
As he looked at Rukia once more he could only hope that Soul Society would not go through with this plan.
=0=
Rukia was relentlessly attacking Shirayuki, not giving her a second's chance to switch to the offense. She had managed to land a handful of shallow and some slightly deeper cuts along Shirayuki's arms but had yet to get around Shirayuki's guard completely in order to land a fatal blow. She was however making steady progress.
Ever since figuring out how to master her Shikai, Rukia had spent what felt like hours mastering both techniques to the same degree Shirayuki could use them. While she was, by now, very adept at using both of them, able to use them at will and even increase or decrease their power she had paid a heavy price for it. In order to practise them freely she had been forced to take a lot of risks some of which had almost cost her her life, multiple times.
She had no idea how long she had been going at it for now but she did realise that already she was growing very weary. She knew that when she started it had been early morning and by this time the sun had already been replaced by the moon. Giving the icy landscape a rather eerie glow.
Realising that she had to get this over with sometime soon, before she started to tire out completely, Rukia started redoubling her efforts. Using quick and efficient strikes which Shirayuki appeared to have trouble blocking. As she was slowly forcing Shirayuki further and further backwards Rukia went for a cheap slash across the knee cap causing Shirayuki to fall down on one knee. Pulling back her Zanpakutou she readied it to stab her companion straight through the heart.
"Tsukishiro!" Shirayuki shouted out, causing the ground beneath the two of them to start glowing an eerie white forcing Rukia to retreat in a whisper of Shunpo. Forced to watch while Shirayuki was imprisoned within her own technique.
Before Rukia even had a chance to think of what to do next, an all too familiar voice echo'd all around her. "It's time for your final test, Rukia. Defeat all four of us, and my Bankai will be yours to command."
'Four?' Rukia wondered, slightly panicked. Before she could think any further on that however three sculptures of ice started to rise out of the ground in front of her. Slowly but certainly they were being molded into the shape of three persons and before she knew it they had been molded in genuine copies of three persons she knew all too well. Right before her eyes stood her two best friends Abarai Renji and Kurosaki Ichigo as well as her brother Kuchiki Byakuya. All three of them looking blankly in front of them. As if on que, Shirayuki's prison of ice shattered, revealing Rukia's fourth and most important opponent.
"I am not a fool, Shirayuki," Rukia spoke to her, "I know that they are not real and I do not have a problem fighting some ice sculptures that merely look like my friends." Rukia knew that, while that was true, she was well aware of the fact that she was quickly starting to tire out and would've already had trouble defeating Shirayuki alone at this point. Fighting four opponents at once seemed to be a lost cause, and she could only hope that those clones Shirayuki had created weren't as powerful as their true selfs were.
Nonetheless Rukia would not give up. Readying herself she got in a battle stance before charging at Renji. Her Zanpakutou at the ready. Out of the corner of her eye she could clearly see the figure of Ichigo speeding towards her and her brother coming at her from her other side. Spinning side-wards mid charge Rukia deflected his vertical blow with relative ease, instantly turning around she deflected her brothers attack next. Looking back towards Renji she saw the released form of Zabimaru coming straight at her forcing her to duck. Improving on the spot Rukia stepped to the right once more and with a quick vertical slice of her Zanpakutou severed Zabimaru in half. Before she got a chance to continue her charge towards Renji however, a blinding pain originated from her back, realising the source of the pain had been Ichigo she instantly Shunpo'd forward and reappeared at Renji's side. Raising her Zanpakutou she prepared to slice his head off with one clean cut, only for it to be blocked by another Zanpakutou she knew only too well. Before she got a chance to figure out a way out of her current predicament however she felt another source of reiatsu charging at her from behind, knowing it was Ichigo she acted merely on instinct.
Grabbing Renji by his Shihakusyou, leaving him defenseless with his Zanpakutou in no shape to do battle, she pointed her Zanpakutou at his chest and prepared to pierce it.
"Hadou #4 - Byakurai." The voice of her brother called out, she could feel his index finger clearly pushing against her stomach and it was no more then a second later that a flash of blue illuminated the immediate area and a burning pain originated from her stomach.
The pain made her eyes droopy. She had trouble seeing Ichigo from the corner of her eyes, nonetheless, she could see the red orb of reiatsu charging on the tip of his fingers just in time. Taking a firmer grip on Renji's Shihakusyou she twisted him around, pushing her brother aside in the process, causing Renji's back to be facing the approaching Cero. "R-Rukia, what are you doing?!" Renji's panicked voice called out to her. Rukia ignored this, it was all fake, despite her current condition she knew that it was fake. And so merely a second before the Cero would impact with Renji, Rukia thrust her Zanpakutou forward, piercing Renji through his heart.
A loud bang reverberated through her Inner World as Rukia could feel herself being catapulted backwards as the Cero impacted with Renji's body. She could feel burns covering her arms from top to button. Her Shihakusyou, melted into her skin from the shoulder till the elbow and she could feel her skin ripping with every slight movement of her arms she made. She was so very tired, too tired. Opening her eyes slightly she could see the figures of her impassive looking friend and brother standing in front of her. She knew of course that they had been there, but she was reminded of something now. She could not fail this test. She had promised Ichigo she would grow powerful, her brother had faith in the fact that she would come out of it alive. She could not dissapoint them merely because she was too tired and hurting.
Ushing her Zanpakutou as a crutch to stand up, she formulated her final battle plan. She was unsure if it would work, raising her gaze to the impassive looking Shirayuki standing behind Ichigo and her brother, Rukia gave one weary nod, for what reason she did not know, perhaps that she was as ready as she was going to be, perhaps that she had appreciated Shirayuki being her Zanpakutou during her career as a Shinigami, Rukia didn't know. As if on cue, Rukia saw the two figures of Ichigo and Byakuya charging at her, Zanpakutou's at the ready. The first thing she noticed was that the both of them had their Zanpakutou pulled back at their sides, signifying they were going to abuse her current condition by going for a thrust, which was far harder to block then an ordinary swing. As they got closer she could clearly see that both of them were going for one side of her chest, Ichigo going for her lungs and Byakuya aiming for her heart. In a last ditch effort Rukia used her free hand to grab Ichigo's Zanpakutou and push it down, even if only slightly. She repeated the same thing by using her Zanpakutou in her other hand, to push her brother's blade slightly off course. It was only a mere moment later that Rukia had to grit her teeth in order not to scream out in agony. Never before had she felt pain like this, being impaled by two Zanpakutou's at once, both missing critical spots by only mere milimeters. She knew now was her turn however, pulling back her sword she impaled her brother in his stomach and with her other hand grabbed Ichigo by the wrist of his sword hand.
Raising her gaze to look at both of her loved ones for a short second, she smirked before speaking the final word that would leave them to the same fate as Renji.
"Tsukishiro!"
The effect was instantaneous, ice was starting to cover their feet, their legs, their waist, their arms, their chest and finally their head too. Both of them were frozen solid and before they even had a chance to break out of their prisons Rukia yanked her sword out of Byakuya's mid section and thrust her open palm against Ichigo's chest, causing both statues to shatter into a thousand pieces.
Had the current situation been better. Rukia would've cried out in joy at her victory. But her victory was all but assured. Raising her head she locked eyes with her last opponent. Sode no Shirayuki was standing no more then twenty yards in front of her, awaiting Rukia's next move. Rukia's eyes were heavy and her vision was faltering. Nonetheless, step by step she got closer to Shirayuki untill she too, started walking towarsd Rukia.
When Rukia had almost reached Shirayuki she took one look back. She could see the dead body of a fake Renji and the piles of broken ice that signified her fallen brother and friend, Kurosaki Ichigo. But she could clearly see she had paid a heavy price for their defeat. The path of her short walk in Shirayuki's direction was covered and soaked with blood and she was starting to have more and more trouble to keep her eyes open. With every movement she could feel more and more of the skin on her arms being ripped off and the burn caused by Byakuya's Kidou spell ached immensely. That was not to mention the agonizing pain originating from near her shoulder, just above her heart, and the very same pain milimeters below where her lungs would have been.
Realising that she couldn't see, she opened her eyes once more only to lay them upon the figure of Shirayuki standing right in front of her, her Zanpakutou raised above her head and poised to strike down at Rukia. She raised her own Zanpakutou just above her shoulder in a half hearted attempt to block Shirayuki's attack. Her arms were heavy and she could not manage to put much strength behind the block. When Shirayuki's Zanpakutou shot downwards Rukia heard a sound of metal breaking followed by a blinding pain originating from her right shoulder and ending somewhere close to her left hip. She was only half aware of the fact that she was probably cut diagonally across the chest.
Losing the last of her strength she fell forward, hitting something soft and letting her eyes fall closed.
=0=
"Promise me Rukia," A voice rang out in the darkness. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't recall who it belonged to.
"Promise that you'll grow strong. This war will take lives, countless lives. Promise me that you'll grow strong enough to survive this war one way or another." The same voice called out to her. But this time it even appeared to be pleading. She still wasn't sure who the voice belonged to but she realized that she should know who it was. Yet, she was ashamed that she couldn't add a face to this voice.
"Rukia," It called out again. She was certain that he was speaking to her, it was dark but Rukia knew she was alone. "I want you to know that next to Nelliel you are my dearest friend and I will always treasure the bond we share."
Ichigo! It was Ichigo that was speaking to her. She remembered. They were memories of her time in captivity in Las Noches. She remembered now that these were some of the words Ichigo had spoken to her. Words that had meant so much to her. She had promised him, promised him to grow strong enough so that she could survive this war. But no longer did she want that strength just to ensure her own survival. She wanted to make sure that her brother and Renji and her Captain and Nel and above all of them Ichigo too, got out of this war alive, no matter what it took!
That was the vow she had made to herself, she would not allow any of them to die and with her gone, who would be there to protect them!?
Slowly but certainly, Rukia forced the darkness away. Silently thanking Ichigo for his support during her times of need.
=0=
Shirayuki looked down upon Rukia with a sad expression. The moment she had broken Rukia's Zanpakutou and Rukia's body fell against her she knew that it was over. Rukia had given it her all and more. She had even managed to defeat the three opponents Shirayuki had chosen for her, a feat that Shirayuki had not expected her to accomplish, considering her already weary condition at the time. Of course it took a great deal of self-sacrifice to even get that done but nonetheless, it was very impressive.
Shirayuki had gotten more and more impressed by Rukia's performance as the hours passed. Rukia had both managed to avoid critical hits by staying on a distance and while taking great risks, managed to master her Shikai almost completely while being relentlessly assault by Shirayuki. Yes, Shirayuki was impressed indeed. Even more so, she was certain, that had Rukia mastered her Shikai beforehand she would have gotten through the entire ordeal, alive.
Sighing, she tightened the grip on her Zanpakutou's hilt and raised it above her head once more. Preparing to strike Rukia down while she was in her arms Shirayuki lowered her gaze to look at the Shinigami that was so precious to her. Her eyes immediately widened as looked down into the wide open eyes of Kuchiki Rukia, her eyes were full of the very same determination that had been there at the start of the test.
"San no Mai, Shirafune."
Feeling Rukia's broken Zanpakutou being pressed against the left side of her chest Shirayuki smiled as the blade reformed itself and pierced through her heart. Rukia had done what she said she would do after all. Shirayuki knew now that she should not have doubted Rukia for even a second and she promised herself not to repeat that mistake in the future.
=0=
Author's Notes.
Pfew let me start off by saying that this chapter has probably been the hardest one to write up untill now. Now let me add a couple of things that I feel need to be said. First off Shirayuki does not resemble the Shirayuki from the canon filler at all and this was intended. You can like it or you can dislike it, fact remains that is one thing that will not change. Secondly the copies of Ichigo, Byakuya and Renji that Rukia faced during her test were in no way as strong as the original ones. They merely took the forms of those particular three in the hopes of throwing Rukia off. Another sort of test if you will, not everything is what it seems.
Lastly, I am very curious to know what everyone thought of this particular chapter. Like I said this is without a doubt the chapter I've had the most trouble writing up untill now, and that says a lot as I've written several others that very challenging for me personally.
If everything goes the way I planned it you can expect the next chapter somewhere around thursday of the next week. Again, if you're all lucky it could be sooner and if you're unlucky it could take a little longer.
Ja ne!
~Bruuz