"Nana, where are you…"
Outside the barrier of the Four Beasts Gate, Rukia Kuchiki stood silently.
She was in her Bankai form—her body coated in ice, her expression cold and emotionless like a snow queen. Despite her usual reserved nature being amplified by her Bankai, she still looked around anxiously, trying to find Nana.
Rukia wanted to share her joy—she had just unlocked her Bankai and defeated a powerful enemy. She wanted Nana to witness this moment with her.
But something felt strange.
The ruins of the Kyūya Palace had only expanded slightly. Despite the destruction, there wasn't a single person in sight.
She continued searching.
Wherever she walked, snow and ice spread under her feet.
Eventually, she reached the center of the destroyed palace.
There, Rukia finally saw someone lying on the ground. She stopped and asked calmly:
"Captain Zaraki, what happened to you?"
It was Zaraki Kenpachi.
He looked badly injured but not fatally so. His body was wrapped in rough bandages.
Leaning comfortably on him was Kusajishi Yachiru, casually eating candy as if nothing was wrong.
Zaraki's mouth twitched at Rukia's question.
What could he even say?
That he fought Nanaya while Nanaya was in his Hollow form… and got completely wrecked by a Cero?
It was humiliating.
He had never lost this badly before.
Even when he fought old man Yamamoto, it took several days for things to reach this point.
This was different. That kid Nanaya… he was a monster. There was no fun in fighting someone like that, Kenpachi thought to himself, quietly frustrated.
Still, he told Rukia everything that happened.
She nodded with her usual calm expression.
Then Zaraki noticed something.
Rukia had changed.
He could feel the icy spiritual pressure coming off her—strong, sharp, and controlled.
His eyes lit up with excitement.
"So… little Kuchiki girl, you've awakened Bankai. When I'm back on my feet, how about a fight?"
"No."
Rukia turned him down without hesitation. Then, with a faint smile still fitting her frosty appearance, she added:
"If you really want to fight someone, I'll let Nanaya take my place."
Kenpachi's mood instantly dropped.
That was the last person he wanted to face again.
Nanaya had crushed him so quickly that he never even had the chance to enjoy the fight. It was just like fighting the Head Captain—overwhelming and disappointing.
Yachiru tried to cheer him up. "It's okay, Ken-chan. If you can't beat Nana-chan, you can always fight Ichigo!"
Kenpachi's eyes lit up again.
He had totally forgotten about Kurosaki Ichigo.
Now that guy was a proper rival—tough, wild, unpredictable. Every time they clashed, they both ended up a mess, and it was glorious.
"Alright," Kenpachi grinned. "Once I've healed a bit, I'm going to look for him."
Somewhere far away, Ichigo—still unconscious—shivered like he sensed something terrible coming.
"Down here…?"
Rukia arrived at a huge crater that pierced straight through to the Menos Forest far below.
Without hesitation, she stepped in and let herself fall.
The surroundings were dark and still.
Her icy form stood out in the shadows as she looked around, surprised.
"Ichigo? Sado? Uryu? …Brother?"
Everyone she named was lying injured on the ground. All of them were being treated by Inoue Orihime.
Ichigo, Sado, and Uryu were unconscious. Only her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, was still awake.
Even though Rukia was cold and detached now, he was still her brother. She asked him softly:
"Brother… what happened here?"
Byakuya's expression twitched slightly.
He reacted much like Kenpachi had earlier.
He didn't say a word. Instead, he quietly turned his head away.
He was still in shock.
He had activated Bankai and fought with everything he had, only for the enemy to end the fight in under twenty seconds—with a single Cero-like blast that looked like a dog-shaped explosion.
He couldn't believe it.
It was humiliating beyond words.
Even in his Eight Tails form, Nanaya was still able to fight at full strength.
Luckily, Orihime Inoue had a gentle and calm nature. After healing the four injured people, she placed a finger on her lips, thought for a moment, and said softly:
"Just a little while ago, Nanaya-kun grew nine beautiful red tails behind him… and he wore a white and red fox mask on his face…"
"He looked so cool. It gave me a strange feeling. My heart is still racing..."
Stop talking about your heart racing… Rukia Kuchiki—still in her icy, snow-covered form—felt her mood shift for the first time. She couldn't help but mutter internally.
It was already hard enough dealing with just Unohana Retsu.
Now even Orihime was acting like this?
"After that," Orihime continued, "Nanaya-kun took off his mask. He seemed to return to normal, just a little tired…"
"Then, Captain Unohana Retsu said that for safety reasons, she would take Nanaya-kun to rest inside the barrier."
"Not long after they left, Nel said she was worried about him and followed too…"
"Tia was the last to go…"
After Orihime finished speaking, she looked at Rukia with a curious expression and asked, "Rukia, why did Captain Unohana Retsu and the others look so red and flustered before they left?"
Rukia froze.
After hearing Orihime's simple question, her calm exterior shattered completely.
This isn't what I think it is… right?
"…It's nothing. Just that someone clearly wants to die," Rukia said through clenched teeth. Her face darkened, and she marched forward, still keeping her usual icy pride.
Not long after, she arrived at a glowing yellow triangular barrier.
Since there was no resistance from the barrier itself, she entered easily.
But the moment she saw what was inside—Rukia's vision went dark.
She blinked in disbelief.
Then her cheeks turned red.
Grinding her teeth, she shouted:
"Unohana Retsu!! Tier Harribel!! Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck!!"
"Would any of you like to explain yourselves!?"
It was the first time she called all three women by their full names. Her spiritual pressure flared coldly, freezing the air around her.
The three women trembled.
Even though they were huddled together closely, they weren't wearing a single thing. The chill was biting.
Unohana Retsu calmly brushed the damp hair behind her shoulder with her pale hand and smiled softly.
"Rukia-chan," she said sweetly, "you haven't defeated me yet. Isn't it natural that I go look for Nanaya in the meantime?"
Rukia's chest rose and fell with anger, but she couldn't find the words to argue.
After all, she hadn't defeated Unohana Retsu.
And the captain had taught her everything about Bankai—skills and experience alike.
Worst of all, when Rukia entered the Four Beasts Gate, she herself had planned to "cheat" a little if things didn't go well…
Damn it.
She gritted her teeth again and turned toward the other two.
"Nelliel, Tia… do you two want to explain this!?"
One Unohana was bad enough.
Now two more!?
Nel blinked, her cheeks a little red, and murmured shyly:
"Rukia-chan… I was just curious about what it felt like, so I came…"
As she spoke, she rubbed her shoulder and whispered again, face bright red:
"It felt… really nice…"
Rukia had the sudden urge to freeze someone solid.
But she knew Nel wasn't lying.
Her personality was just simple and innocent. It was very possible she came purely out of curiosity.
Tier Harribel coughed lightly. She instinctively reached for her high-collared clothes—only to realize they were gone.
Her bronze skin was fully exposed.
Embarrassed, she turned her head and said quietly:
"Rukia… don't misunderstand. I just… wanted to catch Nanaya off guard while he was weak…"
"…Did your clothes vanish during that sneak attack, too?"
Rukia's silver teeth clenched again. She really wanted to turn all three of these women into ice statues.
At that moment, a tired voice called out:
"Um… Rukia…"
Nanaya, who was resting with his head in Harribel's lap, spoke awkwardly.
"I just finished training… I used up a lot of spiritual energy, so I kind of… passed out…"
"Nanaya!"
Rukia's expression twisted with rage. She lunged at him, clawing and yelling:
"I'm freezing you into an ice statue! You big idiot! After training, you're supposed to stay away from bad women like these!"
"Ahh! So cold!"
Nanaya gasped and shivered as a frozen body practically slammed into him.
Unohana Retsu, still smiling calmly, reached over and gently pulled Rukia into her arms.
"Rukia-chan, isn't it time to drop your Bankai form?" she asked warmly.
Rukia froze in surprise.
Then she realized: her spiritual energy had dropped too low. She couldn't maintain Bankai anymore.
The ice slowly melted, revealing her normal self again.
She felt drained down to her bones. She didn't even want to lift a finger.
"…Let me rest for a while," she muttered, waving her hand weakly. She needed to recover before giving those three women a proper beating.
Seeing this, Unohana's smile deepened. She wrapped her arms around Rukia gently and said:
"Rukia-chan, making it this cold in here isn't something a good girl should do."
"So now…"
"It's time for punishment."
Rukia stared blankly for a second.
Then her face turned bright red, like an overripe apple. She started squirming in panic.
"Captain Unohana Retsu, y-you're a captain! You can't do something like this—!"
"N-Nel, Tia—what are you two doing?!"
"Let me go—!!"
For Advanced chapters Visit :: patreon.com/Kaguyahime20