"You sure are bold," Dark Rukia scoffed, arms crossed. "You think you can get rid of me?"
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't say it." Rukia snorted. "Ichigo, you go first!"
"…Alright."
Seeing Rukia's determined gaze, Ichigo finally nodded and sped past Dark Rukia, heading deeper into Las Noches.
Dark Rukia didn't pursue. She'd been waiting for Rukia from the start. If Rukia couldn't defeat her here, she had no business entering Las Noches.
When Ichigo's reiatsu faded, Dark Rukia extended her hand. A small scythe appeared, spinning in her palm. With two turns, it grew into a massive Shinigami scythe.
Dark Rukia's lips curled into a smile. "There can only be one Rukia. Let's see which of us is the original."
"There's no need to see," Rukia replied coldly. "From the start, Rukia Kuchiki has always been a Shinigami, not a Hollow!"
"Yes, it started that way. But that doesn't mean it will end that way." Dark Rukia's body began to decompose.
Rukia focused. She knew her opponent's abilities were elusive and dangerous.
Suddenly, Dark Rukia appeared behind her!
"I knew it!"
Rukia had already activated Absolute Zero. Her body temperature plummeted as she spun and swung her blade!
But Dark Rukia vanished, reappearing behind her once more.
Rukia quickly pointed her free hand backward. "Bakudo Number Thirty-Nine: Enkosen!"
A golden shield appeared, but Dark Rukia's scythe tore through it, slashing toward Rukia. The shield bought a precious moment—Rukia managed to block the strike with Sode no Shirayuki.
In Absolute Zero state, both her body and Zanpakutō were frozen—unyielding to outside force.
Their blades clashed again and again, two seemingly delicate girls engaged in a deadly fight.
Dark Rukia's scythe cut deep, but Sode no Shirayuki's chilling touch was deadly—even to a Hollow's hierro.
Rukia's ability was to lower her body to Absolute Zero, and her blade spread that cold. If the blade struck flesh, it would instantly freeze it, making anything brittle enough to shatter.
After another clash, both retreated.
"You've gotten stronger," Dark Rukia admitted, scythe resting on her shoulder.
"I should thank you," Rukia replied, gripping her blade with both hands. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have grown so quickly."
"For that, you should thank Yoshio," Dark Rukia smiled. "Without him, you wouldn't have discovered Sode no Shirayuki's true abilities."
"How dare you mention that name!" Rukia's gaze sharpened.
"You're angry, huh." Dark Rukia's smile deepened. "What? He already stabbed you once, and you're still hung up on him?"
"Hakuren!"
Rukia swung her blade. Clear rays of light shot out, as before with Runuganga. But Dark Rukia decomposed and vanished, reappearing at Rukia's side with another scythe strike.
Rukia blocked, but the force made her knees bend.
"How pathetic," Dark Rukia sneered. "Yoshio only cared because I was inside you. You really think he valued you?"
"I don't need your judgment," Rukia replied coldly. "And I don't need a Parasitic Hollow to tell me what to think. There will only be one Rukia Kuchiki in this world."
Dark Rukia's tone softened. "You resent me using your face? Then I'll show you my true appearance."
"Resurrección, Shinigami."
A powerful force erupted from her body. Black reiatsu burst forth, a Hollow mask appeared on her face, a Hollow hole formed below her neck, and horns grew from her head.
She looked like a Shinigami undergoing Hollowfication.
But this was not Hollowfication—this was her Resurrección.
Dark Rukia's true form was 'Shinigami'—Rukia Kuchiki herself. Her Hollow traits were hidden beneath her Shinigami form.
Shikai was like a Hollow's Resurrección—breaking open the mask to reveal her true power.
Now, Dark Rukia entered her real form, resembling the original Hollow White.
"So this is your original appearance." Rukia actually sighed in relief—she didn't have to attack her own face anymore.
But she hadn't been idle either.
Rukia placed a hand to her face. "You parasitized my body to gain Shinigami power, but you also gave me Hollow power."
A Hollow mask appeared on Rukia's face. Now, both wore masks—their powers colliding fiercely.
Each clash froze the sand beneath them, turning the desert into an icy battlefield scarred by their attacks.
"Tsukishiro!"
Rukia cried out, and the ground beneath her froze, forming a circle.
Dark Rukia vanished, but a brilliant light rose, creating a massive ice pillar. Yet Dark Rukia dodged easily, then swung her scythe, slicing the pillar—and Rukia's shoulder.
A deep wound appeared on Rukia's right shoulder, extending to her chest. Only her Absolute Zero state kept her arm from being severed.
No blood flowed; the wound was instantly frozen.
"Do you think your tricks can deceive me?" Dark Rukia spun her scythe, smirking. "Don't forget, I used to be you. I know all your moves. I even know what you're thinking!"
Rukia gritted her teeth. Her opponent had been inside her for a long time—knew all her moves.
How could she win?
Again, they clashed.
Rukia's mind raced. Dark Rukia's speed and strength were overwhelming. She needed to end this quickly—or she would lose.
Suddenly, Dark Rukia appeared at her left. This time Rukia's reflexes failed—the scythe struck her chest!
A horizontal crack split Rukia's body. Her eyes widened. She quickly used her cold aura to hold herself together, freezing the scythe in place.
Dark Rukia tried to pull away, but Rukia grabbed her Zanpakutō with both hands.
"Bankai, Hakka no Togame!"
A huge disc appeared above Rukia's head, radiating pure white light.
A pillar of light shot up, enveloping both Rukia and Dark Rukia, then pierced the disc above. A wave of pure white light surged from the ground.
A torrent of Absolute Zero cold froze everything.
This was Rukia's Bankai: Hakka no Togame.
Her Shikai lowered her body temperature to terrifying levels. But her Bankai unleashed that cold outwards, freezing everything—sky and earth alike.
Anyone caught in it would be reduced to shattered ice and dust.
Dark Rukia, frozen in place, shattered into snowy fragments, scattering like silver butterflies.
Rukia stood motionless, slowly withdrawing her Bankai. Even after so brief a moment, she felt as if she'd fallen into an icy hell.
The ice on her body began to shatter. As it peeled away, wounds reopened—blood gushed from her chest and shoulder, soaking her in red.
This was the price of using Absolute Zero and Hakka no Togame—immense power, but immense risk.
Rukia's vision blurred. She collapsed, warmth washing over her as her life faded.
As her life flickered, memories surfaced.
Wait… that familiar feeling she'd sensed from Dark Rukia—she remembered it now.
That wasn't just a Parasitic Hollow. That was the form of the Bull-Headed Hollow she, Shiba Kaien, Ukitake, and Yoshio had once fought.
How could this be?
Rukia's eyes widened, clarity returning in her final moments.
The Bull-Headed Hollow hadn't escaped to Hueco Mundo after all—but into her own body?!