Inside Rukia's inner world, she sat blankly inside a wooden house in Rukongai.
She was lost, completely unaware of who she was or why she was in this place.
"Rukia…"
"Rukia…"
Rukia?
Was that calling her name?
Rukia stared blankly up at the roof. Suddenly, the scenery around her changed. The roof disappeared. The bare, empty walls disappeared as well. In the next moment, she found herself in a world of ice and snow.
Within that snowy landscape, the voice calling to her echoed again and again beside her ears. Rukia frowned. A familiar scene suddenly filled her mind.
In the past, she seemed to have seen this scene before.
The difference was that back then, she had desperately wanted to know the name of that voice.
What was this person called?
The words were right on the tip of her tongue, yet no matter what, Rukia could not say them.
She should know it.
She clearly knew this name.
Snowflakes drifted down onto Rukia little by little. They did not pile up on the surface of her body. Instead, the instant they touched her, they melted into her.
As more and more snowflakes merged into her body, the hazy images in her mind grew clearer and clearer.
She was Rukia.
Yes.
That was her name.
And the voice that kept calling to her—she remembered its name too.
Rukia raised her right hand high and shouted,
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
The most beautiful Zanpakutō, pure white from end to end, condensed in Rukia's hand. The moment she gripped Sode no Shirayuki, the kimono on her body was transformed by Reiatsu into a black Shihakushō.
The Shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki, had returned!
In Hueco Mundo, all the black Reiatsu around Rukia's body was forced out by the Shinigami power within her. Sode no Shirayuki also returned to Rukia. Amid the scattering black Reiatsu, Homura and Shizuku collapsed to the ground in a miserable state.
They had lost.
Seeing Rukia put on her Shihakushō again, and with their erased memories restored, Tsunayoshi and Kisuke Urahara simultaneously released the Bakudō binding Rukia.
"I'm sorry. I caused everyone trouble."
Rukia first bowed in apology, then walked toward the siblings.
Seeing Rukia approach, Homura pitifully raised her hand.
"Rukia, don't leave us…"
Only Shizuku noticed that the Zanpakutō in Rukia's hand was still in its released state. The chill coming from it made Shizuku desperately wriggle toward Homura.
Perhaps he could not do anything.
Even so, Shizuku still wanted to protect his foolish sister as much as possible.
Rukia took in all of Shizuku's actions. She crouched down and said with a smile,
"Shizuku, don't be nervous. I don't intend to hurt you."
The siblings' eyes widened. Homura, in particular, could hardly believe it.
"Rukia, you remembered us?"
Sode no Shirayuki had driven them out of Rukia's body. On top of that, Ichigo and the others had stopped them, leaving the siblings with no time to communicate with Rukia at all. Homura had thought Rukia was still in the state where she had forgotten them.
"I remembered. After seeing that familiar house in Inuzuri, how could I not remember? Homura, Shizuku, I'm sorry. Back then, I failed to protect you."
Rukia's face was full of guilt.
Back when Rukia was still in Rukongai, she had saved Homura and Shizuku when they were still children, and during that time, she had formed a bond of friendship with them.
Then, one day, the three of them were suddenly attacked by a Shinigami who had been parasitized by a Hollow. Rukia, who had not yet undergone Shinigami training, could only crudely use Reiatsu. She could not defeat that Shinigami at all.
At the critical moment, the siblings picked up a sword even taller than themselves and killed the Shinigami. At the same time, they were also parasitized by that Hollow.
While being parasitized, the Hollow activated its power and brought the siblings to Hueco Mundo. Perhaps because that Hollow already possessed the ability to erase memories, the names Homura and Shizuku were also forgotten by Rukia.
After the Hollowfication just now, Rukia, who had fused with Homura and Shizuku's power, finally remembered their names again.
"Thank goodness…"
Tears fell drop by drop from Homura's eyes. For Rukia to remember their names at the final moment of her life was already enough to make her happy.
Homura's seemingly regretless tone made Rukia's heart skip.
"Homura, you…?"
"I'm sorry, Rukia. In the end, we still can't fulfill our promise to be together."
Homura smiled miserably, and her Reiatsu dropped sharply.
"Seeing Rukia become this strong is wonderful. Now my sister and I can rest easy."
Shizuku's Reiatsu was also rapidly weakening.
Homura and Shizuku had not simply been driven out of Rukia's body. While Rukia had been unaware, Sode no Shirayuki had already engaged the siblings in a fierce battle within her inner world.
The final battle only became one-sided after Rukia called out Sode no Shirayuki's name. Of course, the siblings had not wanted to admit defeat so easily, but that choice caused their very essence to be damaged by Rukia's Shinigami power.
The current Homura and Shizuku were merely lingering on their last breaths. If they were not in Hueco Mundo, an environment filled with dense Hollow Reiatsu, perhaps they would not even be able to speak before dispersing into the air.
"This isn't right. We only just recognized each other again. Why…"
Rukia began to panic.
Between the siblings and Sode no Shirayuki, choosing Sode no Shirayuki had not been wrong. But she had not known that her choice would cause the siblings to perish.
What should she do?
Rukia herself had no solution at all.
However, the Zanpakutō in her hand flashed faintly.
Tsunayoshi.
Urahara .
Right.
Those two would definitely have a way!
Seeing the expectation in Rukia's eyes, Tsunayoshi and Kisuke Urahara exchanged a smile. They had already guessed that Rukia would not be able to bear letting the siblings disappear like this.
Just as Rukia opened her mouth, Tsunayoshi appeared beside her with Shunpo.
"Have you ever considered letting them become your power?"
"My… power?"
"Yes. Your Hollowfied form has quite impressive combat strength. Even Ichigo needed Bankai to exchange blows with you. It would be a bit of a waste for that kind of power to disappear for nothing," Tsunayoshi said firmly.
"What do I need to do?" Rukia asked without hesitation.
For her, as long as she could keep the siblings, that was enough. The outcome and process were not things she could consider right now.
"The guy inside me is sleeping, so let's ask someone else. Ichigo!"
Hearing his name, Ichigo immediately stepped forward.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Not you. Zangetsu. Let Zangetsu out—the white version of you. Have him teach these two how to become Rukia's Hollow power."
Tsunayoshi pointed at Homura and Shizuku.
Logically speaking, any Hollow power should be able to achieve this purpose. However, Tsunayoshi secretly glanced at his own inner world and found that Byakuran was sound asleep, looking as though he had played enough outside and come home to catch up on rest.
Since it was not a major issue, Tsunayoshi chose not to wake Byakuran. In any case, White Ichigo would work just as well. In Tsunayoshi's impression, White Ichigo was actually quite good at teaching people.
"What? What do you want me for?"
At Ichigo's urging, White Ichigo walked out of Ichigo's body with an irritated expression. If Old Man Zangetsu could materialize, there was no reason White Ichigo could not. He simply disdained appearing in the real world.
"Zangetsu, please. Teach them how to become Rukia's Hollow power," Ichigo said, pressing his palms together in request.
"Hah?"
Only then did White Ichigo glance at the siblings.
"Trash like this—"
Ichigo hurriedly covered White Ichigo's foul mouth, afraid that one sentence from him would freeze the atmosphere solid.
After Ichigo half-threatened and half-pleaded with him in a whisper, White Ichigo finally said reluctantly,
"These two weren't originally Hollows born inside Rukia. If they want to become Rukia's power, it's very simple."
"They just need to obediently become her mount. Offer everything you have, body and soul, to Rukia as your king. The position of Hollow within her will gradually accept you, and then you'll become her power."
"Remember! Don't develop even the slightest thought of resistance. Otherwise, Rukia's inner world will give birth to her own Hollow. When that happens, there really won't be any place for you inside her."
After saying that, White Ichigo ignored everyone and disappeared, apparently returning to Ichigo's body.
Ichigo smiled apologetically, but that was just White Ichigo's temperament. Even when facing Ichigo, his own master, he always had a foul expression. Ichigo could not do anything about it either.
"To put it simply, you give up your autonomy in exchange for the right to stay with Rukia. Choose for yourselves," Tsunayoshi summarized.
"There's no need to choose. Rukia, absorb our power!"
Homura's gaze was extremely firm. Her hand was already clasped together with Shizuku's. Under their control, their dissipating Reiatsu gradually stabilized again.
The siblings looked at each other and nodded. At the same time, they transformed into black flames. Hollow power gradually took shape, and within those flames was the scythe Rukia had used earlier.
Homura and Shizuku had no complaints about becoming Rukia's Hollow power.
Was this not also another form of being together forever?
Understanding the siblings' feelings, Rukia raised her hand and grasped the scythe. The black Hollow power flowed into Rukia's body through the scythe.
There was no discomfort at all. It was as though it had always belonged to Rukia.
This was the result of the siblings giving up all control. The ownerless Hollow power was smoothly absorbed by Rukia. Even the scythe merged into her body along with it. After leaving a faint scythe mark on the back of Rukia's hand, it vanished.
To prevent Homura and Shizuku from suddenly turning on her, Sode no Shirayuki had Rukia keep her released the entire time. The process went smoothly. There was no conflict at all, completely unlike the earlier life-or-death hostility against her Shinigami power.
"I succeeded."
A faint smile appeared on Rukia's face. She could clearly sense that Homura and Shizuku had taken the position of Hollow power within her. However, the siblings were still sleeping. It would take some time before she could communicate with them normally.
"Wait, Rukia. Does that mean you can Hollowfy whenever you want now?" Ichigo suddenly asked.
"Of course. Isn't that obvious?"
Rukia rolled her eyes at Ichigo in annoyance. The scythe mark on the back of her left hand appeared, and Hollow power once again changed Rukia's form.
The same scythe-wielding Rukia from before appeared in front of everyone.
The only difference was that this time, her eyes were much clearer, and Sode no Shirayuki, now returned to its Asauchi state, hung at her waist.
"No way. Your Hollowfication training was that easy?" Ichigo clutched his head and shouted in anguish.
He vaguely remembered that when he trained his Hollowfication, he had been beaten up by Tsunayoshi more than a few times. Not only him—even the other Visored had gone through the same experience.
"What are you thinking? After you accepted Zangetsu, weren't you also able to maintain your reason during Hollowfication?" Tsunayoshi said irritably. "Right now, the Hollow power inside Rukia is completely under her own control. It would be stranger if she couldn't Hollowfy, wouldn't it?"
Author's Note: I used Fade to Black: I Call Your Name to give Rukia an additional form.
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