"Sode no Shirayuki! Where are you!?"
Rukia spun around in confusion.
The icy realm still remained, meaning the Tenshintai's time wasn't up yet—but her materialized zanpakuto spirit had vanished.
"Could she have… run away?"
From behind an ice ridge, Sode no Shirayuki let out a sigh of relief.
Cole eyed her with amusement.
"You're her zanpakuto. What's the problem if she finds out I punished you?"
Furious, she bit his shoulder.
"Fool! Has no one ever told you a zanpakuto isn't a tool, but a trusted companion?"
Cole tilted his head. To him, a zanpakuto was a part of a shinigami's soul. Yet here she was, independent, alive. Was she a daughter of death gods? A partner created by them? A second personality? The thought gave him a headache.
He gave up pondering. Instead, he smirked.
"Sode no Shirayuki, you wouldn't want your master knowing I bullied you, right?"
Her face paled.
"Wait—what are you going to do? If you mess with me, my master won't forgive you!"
"Your master is already mine. What are you compared to her?" Cole chuckled darkly. "Now, be good. Call me master."
Her pale cheeks flushed red like Rukia's. She resisted, but in the end whispered, trembling,
"…Master."
Cole grinned in satisfaction.
"Good. Now apologize for nearly cutting off little Cole—that's your master's lifelong happiness."
Her ears burned red.
"S-sorry, Master. I shouldn't have tried to hurt little Cole. Please forgive me."
Before Cole could tease her more, Rukia's voice called from afar:
"Cole? Sode no Shirayuki? What are you two doing back there?"
The snow woman shook her head furiously, face crimson.
"N-nothing!"
Cole coughed.
"Just testing if extending the time affects bankai."
"Oh, I see!" Rukia nodded.
Sode no Shirayuki quickly urged, "Yes, let's finish this. Come—strike me!"
Rukia lifted her crystalline blade and charged. Their swords clashed, and with a sharp crack, Sode no Shirayuki's weapon shattered. Her form dissolved into drifting snow.
As she vanished, she shot Cole one last furious glare.
"Damn brat…"
Snowflakes fell like fading crystals, gone in an instant.
Cole gripped his golden staff, strangely thoughtful.
"What is a zanpakuto, really? A weapon with a will… or a true companion?"
He thought of Ichigo's Hollow Zangetsu, Renji's Zabimaru, Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru, Soi Fong's Suzumebachi, Byakuya's Senbonzakura… each felt alive.
His musings were cut short as Rukia leapt into his arms.
"Cole! I finally achieved bankai!"
He smiled, though her rising spiritual pressure chilled the air. Within seconds, her warm body was as cold as ice.
"Wait! Not now. Rest first. You're not Ichigo—your body can't take it."
Exhausted, Rukia relented, snuggling against him. Half-asleep, she murmured,
"Cole… thank you. Without you, I never could've done this. I… I like you so much…"
Cole brushed her hair aside, tapping his cheek.
"Then reward me."
Even before he finished, she kissed his face softly.
"Thank you, Cole."
She slipped into sleep, hugging him tightly.
Cole chuckled and raised a hand.
"Bakudō #37: Tsuriboshi (Suspending Star)!"
Blue energy stretched into a hammock, gently cradling Rukia as she smiled in her dreams.
…
Meanwhile, in the 6th Division.
Byakuya suddenly froze in his office, eyes narrowing toward the west.
"They've come."
Senbonzakura petals swirled violently, spreading across his barracks. For three days, he'd kept his blade released, waiting. Now at last, he sensed them.
He vanished from the room. Renji followed in alarm.
On the street, Gin smiled at the storm of petals.
"As expected of dutiful Captain Byakuya—keeping his release active for days just to wait for us."
Tōsen scoffed.
"Don't act smug. Aizen-sama still hasn't found the Hōgyoku. Are you pleased about that?"
Gin's eyes glittered coldly.
"Careful, Captain Tōsen. We're equals. Want to test me?"
"Do you think I fear you?" Tōsen growled, hand on his sword.
Their argument halted as Ulquiorra lifted a finger. A pale blue Cero lanced out, detonating thousands of petals in a thunderous blast. Buildings crumbled, shinigami were hurled aside, and dust choked the streets.
Yet through the haze, blades of light carved a path—Byakuya stepped forth, calm as ever.
"Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
Rows of titanic blades rose, dissolving into a storm of countless cherry blossoms. Half circled protectively around him; the rest surged at his foes like a tsunami.
Even Aizen canceled Kyōka Suigetsu's illusion, forced to face it.
Gin appeared on a wall, grinning.
"Captain Byakuya, we were comrades once. Isn't this too harsh?"
Byakuya's gaze was icy.
"I have no traitors as comrades. You chose to enter my division—this will be your grave."
Gin turned to Aizen.
"Captain, what now? Make too much noise and the old man will come."
Aizen's face was unreadable as he drew his sword. Byakuya commanded his blossoms forward.
"Not even your Kyōka Suigetsu can breach this wall of blades."
"…Is that so?"
The voice came from directly behind him.
Byakuya's pupils shrank. He leapt forward instinctively.
Too late.
Steel bit deep into his back. Blood sprayed, staining his white haori. His knees buckled as he barely shunpoed to a distant wall, glaring.
"How did you get through? Half my petals guarded me from every angle!"
Gin chuckled.
"Captain Byakuya, didn't Aizen say? Complete hypnosis can twist every sense. You thought you defended every angle—but did you?"
Byakuya turned, horrified. A massive gap yawned in his supposed defense—wide enough for three men to stroll through side by side.
"Impossible…"
His confidence crumbled.
Tōsen drew his sword.
"Don't waste words. He's the enemy. If Aizen-sama didn't finish him in one stroke, I will."
"Bankai! Enma Kōrogi (Grillet Cricket)!"
Darkness swallowed everything. Vision, sound, smell, even reiatsu perception vanished.
Byakuya stood blind in absolute void.
But Tōsen, within his own darkness, saw perfectly. His voice was cold as steel.
"Byakuya Kuchiki. Noble head of the Four Great Houses. Did you ever imagine dying like livestock before me?"
He raised his blade toward Byakuya's face.
"Don't worry—I won't kill you quickly. You'll feel every moment of slaughter."
…
Outside, Aizen strode deeper into the barracks. His face darkened, fury in his eyes.
"Not here… not here either! Where is it!? Where did Urahara hide the Hōgyoku!?"
(End of Chapter)
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