Yuta held Hana Akari by the thighs with both hands as he walked through the street.
Her small frame was nearly weightless, as if he were carrying a plush toy.
Hana Akari clutched a stick of takoyaki in her chubby hand, nibbling each bite slowly.
It seemed she had rarely tasted food this good; her hair swayed with every satisfied motion of her lips, and her small boots swung lightly ahead of Yuta as he moved forward.
At that moment, Yuta glanced in the direction of an unleashed spiritual pressure ahead.
"Looks like we've found our next task."
Hana Akari finished her last bite and nodded.
Some time earlier-
It was the bridge leading to the prison.
Rukia Kuchiki stepped onto it without hesitation.
Her resolve had been made the moment she re-honed her Zanpakutō.
No one else could be counted on to save Yuta. If she had to break the rules to do it, then so be it.
Her family's rules were important, but they were not above everything.
As Rukia advanced along the bridge, multiple guards tried to intercept her.
"This area is restricted. Unauthorized personnel must turn back!"
Rukia responded only with action. Her sword rose, and the encounters ended quickly.
Her spiritual pressure now rivaled that of vice-captains; the guards weren't her match.
What she didn't know was that Ukitake Jushiro remained in the captain's quarters, seated on his bed, gently knitting the fabric for captain's robes. Once intended for Shiba Kaien, who passed before ever wearing it, Ukitake had since planned to pass it to Rukia. When she eventually mastered her Bankai and earned the strength to lead-then, it would be hers.
Rukia defeated each guard with minimal exertion. Her breathing was only slightly labored after every exchange.
However, the instant she saw the figures ahead of her, her composure broke for the first time.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped with the realization of who stood before her.
Kuchiki Byakuya-her brother-and a high-ranking elder of the Kuchiki clan waited at the far end of the bridge.
Rukia's pulse slowed, her pupils dilated slightly. The elder's expression was cold and resolute.
"Rukia Kuchiki," the elder said flatly, "you entered the prison area without permission and injured members of the guard... Detain her and schedule the trial."
Kuchiki Byakuya remained motionless, the breeze pulling petals through the air around him.
He wore the formal garments of nobility; only those of the main bloodline were permitted to wear the 'Star Clamp' hairpiece he bore at his temples.
His presence alone carried immense pressure, cold and heavy as stone.
Byakuya's narrow eyes met Rukia's without reaction-detached even now.
"Will you come on your own," he asked, "or shall I take you myself?"
His hand didn't even reach for the hilt of his Zanpakutō-as though the answer truly did not matter to him.
Rukia stood rigid beneath his stare, sweat cooling on her temple and spine, but not retreating even half a step.
"Brother…"
"You may not understand this…"
"But sometimes protecting someone you care for is worth breaking any law."
Her second hand joined the first at her sword's hilt-her grip tightening, her breathing controlled.
Lifting her Zanpakutō, she rotated it once in front of her.
"Dance with me-Sode no Shirayuki."
White spiritual pressure burst outward; her Zanpakutō began to transform.
It shed its outer appearance until only white remained-blade, hilt, and ribbon alike.
As she turned, the trailing ribbon created near-perfect circles in the air, trails of tiny snowflakes swirling through the motion.
Sode no Shirayuki was considered the most beautiful Zanpakutō in Soul Society-an elegant weapon of ice and snow.
"First Dance-White Moon."
Rukia's swung blade triggered the technique. The ground around her quickly frosted over, extending outward in a white ring that froze everything within its radius.
Her eyes, clear and focused, reflected the shimmer of the expanding ice field.
Cracks formed instantly at Byakuya's feet as the frost crawled upward and enveloped him.
In moments, his entire body was sealed within clear crystal ice-transparent and unmoving.
Rukia exhaled slowly, lowering her arm at last.
Even her brother would not be able to move while frozen by White Moon.
"Forgive me, Brother…"
Before the words fully left her lips, the ice around Byakuya shattered.
He remained exactly where he had stood, not a mark on his form-his eyes colder than even the frost that had attempted to hold him.
"Rukia," he said calmly, "if you have anything left to use, do it now."
"If not-you may die here."
Byakuya's hand touched the hilt of his Zanpakutō with the sound of metal shifting.
Rukia felt her body tighten. Her pupils contracted instinctively.
No good-!
She attempted to retreat-too late.
There was no choice now but to release her technique.
She struck the ground four times with her blade in rapid succession-
Byakuya had already moved.
His form flickered, and he appeared directly in front of her. Her Zanpakutō clashed against his-
Clink!
Crack-
First, the clash of metal. Second, the sound of her blade breaking.
Shards of white steel scattered through the air like snowflakes-falling light and slow.
She stared at the broken weapon in shock.
How?
How could her Zanpakutō be shattered so easily?
Was the gap in their power really this vast?
Rukia stumbled backward, disbelief filling her as she looked down at the snapped weapon in her palm.
She hadn't lost-not completely. The technique she'd prepared-"White Ripple"-was already in motion.
It took the shape of a massive column of snow and ice, several meters wide, and it barreled forward toward Byakuya.
Even from where she stood, the cold slammed into her skin; it stole the breath from her throat with every inhale.
Byakuya barely moved. He waited until the attack neared-then raised his Zanpakutō.
"Scatter… Senbonzakura."
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