Sode no Shirayuki -Sleeve of White Snow

This is a fanfic about a Manga/anime called 'Bleach' and one of its main characters Rukia Kuchiki.

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Rukia rested her Zanpakutou easily on her shoulder and turned to hide her face, offended by Ichigo’s belief that she couldn’t handle a measly Arrancar on her own. The movement brought Ichigo’s attention to her blade and his mouth dropped open as he looked at it properly for the first time.

“Rukia, your sword –” he faltered.

“Sode no Shirayuki.” It was Rukia’s gikon who answered his unspoken question. “It is said to be the most beautiful of all the snow and ice Zanpakutou in Soul Society. The blade, the guard, even the hilt. A Zanpakutou of the purest white.”

She narrated Rukia’s story to Ichigo as she continued to hold him down, occasionally tightening her hold when he made sarcastic comments or interrupted her, resulting in yells of pain followed by swearing and then silence as she continued her explanation.

Rukia was secretly pleased at Ichigo’s amazement, it reminded her of her own wonder when she’d first released Sode no Shirayuki and seen her true form. As her gikon talked to Ichigo her mind drifted back to her days as a member of 13th Division of the Thirteen Protection Squads.

Many Years Ago……

“Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!”

Rukia passed her hand down the length of her Zanpakutou and watched it transform in a cloud of snow. The steel blade turned completely white, as did the guard and hilt. From the end of the hilt a white ornament hung and attached to it was a long pure white ribbon which fluttered in the breeze. Entranced Rukia stared at it for a long moment, the empty clearing where she practiced completely silent except for the whistle of the wind and her own heartbeat. Finally after long minutes of awed contemplation of her Zanpakutou Rukia extended her arm and made a few experimental swings with her newly transformed sword. Her teachers had drummed it into her that even though she could now reach the released stage of her Zanpakutou she must still learn to use it properly and now was as good as any time to start.

Sode no Shirayuki almost sang in her hand as her blade cut the air leaving infinitesimal ice crystals in her wake so that as Rukia continued to swing, the air seemed to glitter where she passed. Rukia almost cried as she came to a halt, finally she was progressing, finally she had something worthy to tell Byakuya to prove that his adoption of her was not a mistake!

As the afternoon continued she worked with Sode no Shirayuki, trying to understand her and strengthen the bond between them. A Zanpakutou was no mere sword with a few extra additions, each was a reflection of their Shinigamis’ soul and personality and had a spirit all its own. Every Zanpakutou had its own unique talents and abilities which must be learned and understood and only the Zanpakutou could teach its wielder about itself and its abilities because as every soul was different so were no two Zanpakutou alike (except for an exceedingly unusual occurrence where Hitsugaya Toushiro and Sōjirō Kusaka manifested the same Zanpakutou spirit resulting in twin Zanpakutou).

Rukia was determined to go as far as she and Sode no Shirayuki could go together in order to honour the time and effort her teachers and friends put in to help her suceed. Time passed and slowly she discovered Sode no Shirayuki’s secret –her dances.

Some no Mai, Tsuki Shiro (First Dance, White Moon) created a circle of icy ground around Rukia’s target which transformed into a column upon command, freezing everything on the ground and in the sky within the boundaries of the circle.

Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren (Second Dance, White Ripple) fired a frozen wave from the tip of Sode no Shirayuki’s blade which covered the enemy in ice, hindering movement if not freezing them entirely.

San no Mai, Shirafune (Third Dance, White Cutter) could only be used if Sode no Shirayuki’s blade was broken or damaged. It reformed the blade from ice particles and cut through anything in her path, also freezing everything in Rukia’s immediate vicinity.

­With Sode no Shirakuki’s three dances mastered as well as Rukia’s own above average kido skills she was a formidable opponent in battle and a definite match for any Hollow that could appear in the real world. As such it was no surprise that her next assignment was to go to the Human World and protect the town of Karakura in Japan……..