"Muramasa…"
"Koga Kuchiki's zanpakuto…"
"Didn't think he could exist on his own…"
After hearing Sode no Shirayuki lay out the current situation with the zanpakuto, Shinji and the others only felt a sharper headache coming on.
Rukia, meanwhile, was a little lost. Koga Kuchiki? Byakuya's uncle? Why had she never heard of him?
"Kisuke, Tessai, Yoruichi, Kensei, Love, Rose, Hiyori…" Kisuke looked at his old friends. Having just one person accompany Cole to Soul Society—why did that make him so uneasy?
Shinji yawned. "Give it up. Even if all of you go, I'm not going. Don't forget what my zanpakuto does."
If his zanpakuto manifested and betrayed him, it would be a catastrophe—no less than another all-out rebellion, maybe even a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood in Seireitei.
Just thinking about Shinji's zanpakuto made Kisuke shiver. "You're right. Best if you don't go."
With Shinji's reiatsu and zanpakuto, if he used bankai, the only ones who wouldn't be affected would be the Head Captain, Cole, and Aizen. Every other shinigami would plunge into despair.
"What about you, Kensei?" Kisuke looked over.
Kensei sighed. "We're still wanted men. If we go back, forget whether our zanpakuto betray us—the shinigami might treat us as enemies first."
Tessai said, "I can go. I haven't hollowfied, and I don't have my zanpakuto's bankai either."
Yoruichi drawled, "I can go too. They don't dare lay hands on me."
That was the perk of being a noble—even branded a criminal, most shinigami still wouldn't act rashly against her.
Seeing volunteers step up, Kisuke finally exhaled. He had zero desire to dive into the dragon's den alone.
Cole smiled. "Since you've decided, Kisuke, let's head over now."
With the zanpakuto's rebellion, he'd probably see plenty of new faces—and the thought alone made his blood run hot. And after half a month, most of Seireitei's buildings were likely rebuilt. He could, ahem, feast again.
"About that…" Kisuke hesitated. "Today… tomorrow… let's go tomorrow afternoon. We'll check Soul Society then."
Rukia grew anxious. "Why wait a day?"
When she'd left, Seireitei was already aflame. And now Kisuke wanted to wait and watch?
Kisuke gave a wry smile and lifted his zanpakuto, Benihime. "Let me run some tests. Otherwise I'm worried our blades will manifest and betray us the moment we arrive."
He glanced at the group. "You don't want to face Cole's Ruyi Jingu Bang or Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu (Heaven-Chain Slaying Moon), do you?"
Rukia shuddered. Definitely not. Forget Cole's staff—Ichigo's Zangetsu alone was terrifying.
"Then I'll get started…" Kisuke hustled out.
He'd never once planned for his zanpakuto to betray him—so he'd never prepared. Now he had to experiment. The last thing he wanted was to end up fighting his own blade.
Once Kisuke left, the Visoreds also departed, worry etched on every face. They needed a serious council—should they all head to Seireitei as support?
Soon, the sprawling villa had only five left: Cole, Rukia, Sode no Shirayuki, Orihime, and Unohana.
Rukia puffed her cheeks at her zanpakuto. Seeing Sode no Shirayuki clinging sweetly to Cole's arm made her even angrier; her cheeks ballooned like a pufferfish.
Sode no Shirayuki shot her a side-eye and huffed. "What are you looking at? I'm not going back under your command. Give it up, you silly woman."
Rukia fumed and turned to Cole. "Say something to her!"
Cole could only give a helpless smile. "Say what? Ask her to go back to being a zanpakuto?"
"What else!?"
"But that's a bit much." Cole pinched Sode no Shirayuki's cool, porcelain cheek. "To me, she's a life with her own will. How could I send her back alone to her inner world?"
Ichigo's inner world was nothing but empty skyscrapers—a dead city, silent and barren. One person in a whole world… that was torture.
Rukia fell speechless, but still muttered, "Every zanpakuto is like that. And I talk to her a lot…"
Sode no Shirayuki snorted, then dove into Cole's arms with honeyed sweetness. "Cole is the best. I'm going to live with Cole for the rest of my life. I'm never going back to that desolate world of snow and ice."
Before Rukia could retort, Orihime couldn't help it; her eyes brimmed. "Sode no Shirayuki-san is so pitiful…"
A minute ago she'd felt wronged—Sode no Shirayuki stealing Cole. Now she couldn't help but sympathize. To live alone in endless winter, with no one to speak to… what punishment could be harsher?
Seeing Cole and Orihime's reactions, Rukia suddenly felt like the villain. She could only mumble, "It's not my fault…"
A zanpakuto was the shinigami's own soul, their closest partner—one and the same. In theory, a zanpakuto shouldn't feel lonely.
After a while, Rukia gave up and returned to her room. After a day and night of being hunted by Sode no Shirayuki, her wounds were mended, but her spirit was exhausted. She fell asleep the moment she hit the bed.
In the living room, Orihime focused on Sōten Kisshun (Twin Heavenly Return Shield), treating the injuries Sode no Shirayuki had taken in bankai. Sode no Shirayuki blinked in surprise. "Orihime-san, your power is amazing. You can even heal bankai wounds."
Normally, injuries to a manifested zanpakuto in shikai could be healed. But bankai was different—once a bankai-state body was damaged, it couldn't be restored, which meant permanent loss of power. Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka (Six Flowers of the Shield) overturned all rules and experience.
Cole cupped Orihime's cheeks and gave her a kiss. "Of course. My Orihime is incredible."
Shun Shun Rikka was a power that trespassed on the realm of the gods—even Aizen coveted it. In healing, Orihime's ability could rival the Soul King.
Orihime's face went peach-pink. She pushed Cole away shyly and continued healing Sode no Shirayuki's bankai injuries.
Cole didn't disturb them further and turned to Unohana. "Nee-san, what are you up to?"
Unohana was kneeling like a gentle big sister, her zanpakuto resting across her thighs as her fingers stroked the sheath. That should be his treatment, Cole thought sourly.
She lifted her lips with a spark in her eyes. "Cole, if my zanpakuto manifested… wouldn't that be a second me?"
"Uh…" Cole had a bad feeling. He tried cautiously, "Nee-san, you mean…"
Color rose to Unohana's cheeks; she licked her lips. "I am Yachiru Unohana. If my zanpakuto manifested, she'd be a second Yachiru. Fighting each other would be… delightful."
Cole fell silent for a few beats—and chose not to disturb her. The world of a yandere was beyond him. Still, it was good news: if Unohana and her zanpakuto fought each other, maybe she'd stop coming after him.
A little later, Orihime finished and slumped with fatigue. Cole carried her to a room, and she drifted off the moment she touched the sheets.
He turned back to Sode no Shirayuki. "Want to rest too?"
She nodded, cheeks rosy.
They found an empty bedroom and made up the bed. Cole was about to leave when she sat on the mattress, face red, and timidly tugged his sleeve.
Cole turned, surprised. Sode no Shirayuki gathered her courage and pulled him down onto the bed.
Cole's smile warmed; he caressed her skin—smooth as newfallen snow. "Want me to rest with you?"
She nodded, scarlet-faced.
Cole's mouth curled. He slipped off his clothes, rolled the snow-maiden beneath him, and brushed her lips. "Sode no Shirayuki, open your eyes."
She shyly opened eyes like carved ice. A formless warmth poured into her—melting that snow-smooth body to the core.
"Cole-kun…"
"Shirayuki… so cold…"
In another room, sleeping Rukia's face turned pink for no reason. Her legs clamped around the quilt as she tossed, whispering, "Cole… so hot…"
The night passed swiftly.
At dawn, Rukia slipped out with flushed cheeks and quietly stuffed her clothes into the washing machine. Only then did she pat her chest in relief. "Rukia, you're a hundred-plus-year-old girl—how can you have dreams like that? How embarrassing…"
Just then she saw Cole and Sode no Shirayuki emerge. Curiosity sparked. "Shirayuki, what's with the limp? Are your bankai injuries not healed?"
Leaning on Cole's arm, Sode no Shirayuki's face bloomed red. Yesterday she might have snapped back. Remembering last night, she bowed her head instead. "It's nothing. Just… a few lingering aches."
A big question mark popped over Rukia's head. "Then why is your face so red?"
Sode no Shirayuki was ice-element—her skin was literally jade-cold. In theory, she almost never blushed. Rukia narrowed her eyes. "You two didn't… do something behind my back, did you?"
Sode no Shirayuki reddened further, bit her lip, glanced at Rukia standing by the washer, and shot back, "I didn't do anything bad. What about you—doing laundry first thing in the morning… isn't that last night's new pajama set?"
Rukia went tomato-red and stammered into silence. How could she say she'd had such a shameful dream? How would she face anyone?
Both women felt guilty, so they dropped it and ate breakfast in a weird hush.
"Orihime already headed to school," Rukia said at the table. "Cole, are you going too?"
She hadn't attended Karakura First High in a while; going with Cole sounded fun.
"Cole isn't going." Sode no Shirayuki squeezed his hand, cheeks aflame. "He's helping me heal. If you want to go, go by yourself."
"Heal, huh…" Rukia looked disappointed. If Cole wasn't going, she wasn't in the mood either.
She decided to change into something cozier. Back in her room, she opened the wardrobe, slipped off her shihakusho, and reached for a nightdress—only for her face to go scarlet as a tingling shiver ran through her entire body. Her knees buckled and she sank in front of the closet, panting, flushed, eyes shyly cast down.
"Damn you, Cole and Sode no Shirayuki—so that's your 'healing'?"
She wasn't stupid. Last night could be chalked up to confusion. But this surging tingle? She gritted her teeth, intent on heading to the basement… and promptly melted back to the floor with a muffled "Mm," cheeks blazing.
…
By afternoon, Kisuke returned to the villa, expression grave, a few wooden tags in hand. "Cole, Ichigo, I've finished most of my testing. No idea if it'll work, but you can try…"
He paused, eyeing Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki strangely. "Why are you two… getting along so well?"
(End of Chapter)
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