A/N: Yeah. It's been awhile. Um.

…Please don't hurt me? *braces for flying tomatoes*

Seriously, I'm so sorry for the terrible update delay. All the ideas just flew into limbo and wouldn't come back for the longest time. D: But I figured that, seeing as it's Christmas and all, I might as well try to write up something for all of you and thank you for your continued support. 101 reviews!!! It's like a dream come true!! So…hopefully it comes out alright. *sweatdrop*

…Goodness, this is awkward…

Uh…enjoy? Please? O_O

*is extremely nervous*

Disclaimer: We all know the drill! Uh, no, not the drop and roll…y'know, the other one. Yeah, that one.

"It's about time."

The voice is clean, pure. A frosted silver bell, each note heart-wrenchingly resonant, and yet distant, a toll from a tower high above the clouds.

Whiteness. Everything, white. An ambient white, moving, constantly shifting, a curtain encompassing all of the air. More impenetrable than the deepest fog.

And cold. A deep, crystalline cold, the kind of cold that has never been felt or breathed by any other living soul. A cold that seemed to strike down through bone, into the heart, permeating one's very breath with a silver chill.

She raised a hand, and the rush of snowflakes chased across her palm, incredibly light, almost nonexistent, and yet there. She could feel them, even now, brushing against her cheeks, flitting through her hair, swirling all about her, the whiteness closing in like a protective shroud. Taking a step forward, her foot sank into a soft, fluffy blanket, unimaginably cold, so cold it refused to melt, to become damp, as snow should do. Yet this cold did not bite into her bare soles, her exposed hands and face, but rather seemed to flow into them, merging into her bloodline, breathing a freshness into her every muscle, a mint rush.

She couldn't see a thing in the whiteness, this solid wall of blinding, swirling light. There was only the rush of the wind in her ears, the fleeting touch of the snowflakes, the softness of the ice beneath her feet.

And the voice. The white voice, its bell-like tones rippling through her with its incredible pureness. It was almost painful to listen to, striking her ears with its powerful finality and beauty, each note breaking into sound with the force of an ocean wave upon a shore.

Almost painful.

If anything, Rukia Kuchiki supposed that, to anyone else, it probably would have been painful. In a wonderful, heart-breaking sort of way.

But it wasn't to her. Because…because this was her zanpakuto.

Sode no Shirayuki.

And the joy of the realization slowly began to steal through her, a cold warmth that was just as nice as the feel of the frost that permeated her surroundings.

She had finally done it.

She was here.

"You do not seem to speak half as much as you think."

And thus it arose again. Rukia raised her head, eyes raking the white. Her zanpakuto spirit, it must be. But…

"Where are you?"

Her voice was almost instantly swallowed by the whiteness, muffled into a distant cry from a faded memory. It was rather alarming. Yet Rukia continued on despite, the pleasant feeling of accomplishment suddenly beginning to meld into that of slight irritation, and fear. She hadn't come this far to give up now…right?

She called once more, raising her voice.

"I can't see you!"

The increase in volume seemed to have no effect as the flying snow shattered the outcry into a thousand pieces and scattered them into the wind, faint and lost. Yet at last the voice replied, rendered even more wholesome than before in comparison to her own feeble vocal attempts, resonating all around her as if it had no direction. It was tinted in amusement.

"Ah, but you can't see anything."

"I - well, yes, I'm aware of that!" Rukia found herself already irritated and surprised at the same time. She hadn't thought such a pure voice would be capable of being…annoying. It had shattered the entire eerie effect. Vaguely, she wondered if it had been on purpose or not. "But - can't you at least show yourself? I want to see you!"

"One must first see herself before she can truly see others."

"…What?"

"Exactly what I said." The voice had assumed a sagely inflection, which suited it more…to a degree. "And, rest besides, I cannot show myself to you now. You are not ready yet."

"Not ready?" Dismayed, Rukia stared at the rippling whiteness in front of her, for lack of anything else to look at. "What else must I do? I'm here already, aren't I? I found your name. …I awakened you!"

"True, true," the voice agreed. "Yet still, I cannot. It is rather surprising that you can already hear me speak without clapping your hands over your ears in agony, but even that accomplishment is clearly a borderline thing. If I were to reveal myself to you now, it would probably do more harm than good. Your eyes would not fare well from the encounter."

"So you mean to tell me that you're…too beautiful?"

"Well, yes, if you'd rather put it that way."

Rukia gazed incredulously at a space in the immediate vicinity of her line of vision. Sode no Shirayuki had been admired by many as a sword for its elegance, yes, but…she had never thought her inner soul would be this…vain…

"I am not vain!" the voice cried suddenly. The tones were hurt, dancing on the borderline of indignant, and Rukia almost jumped. It was like the clang of a war bell, and though it was still distant, her ears throbbed slightly all the same. "Is it vain for a swordsman to warn a thieving peasant of the sharpness of his blade? Is it vain for a cook to warn his customers of the heat of his soup? Is it vain for a king to inform a stranger of his status? Naught! I merely speak the truth, with concern for your own well-being! There is no vanity in that!"

"No, no, of course not!" Well, there was one thing to learn. Her zanpakuto obviously did not like that term. "I'm…sorry for saying…thinking…that. I didn't mean to insult you or anything like that, really. I was just surprised."

"And what exactly were you expecting, then?" The clamor was gone, and a serene silver bell had returned, tolling gently in a faraway chapel, informing listeners that all was well again for a time.

Glad to have escaped that inconvenience, Rukia confronted this new question somewhat cautiously.

"Well, I don't know, actually." Honesty was probably the best option. "But…I do think it's wonderful here. Even if I can't see you. It's…peaceful. Like I…can rest and not have to worry anymore."

And that was the truth, really. Already, Rukia found that the whiteness was becoming less of a burden and more of a comforting thing, a barrier against anything that may lie ahead or behind, and the cold was invigorating and restful at the same time, settling comfortably in her limbs in a way she had never known possible. The gentle touch of the fluttering snow also gave her that sense of reality she needed to know that she was not alone, in this vast, empty whiteness.

It was really almost like she was…

"Home, is it not?"

Sode no Shirayuki's voice had grown very soft and wistful, and Rukia found that the tone finally suited this voice perfectly. It was sincere now, not a trace of joke to be found.

"Yes," Rukia agreed, just as quietly…and she was surprised when her voice lifted, as though buoyed by the rushing wind, and resonated clearly, just like her zanpakuto's. Not quite as pure and clean, perhaps, but it rang just as truly.

"I see you are already learning the laws of this place. That is good." There was a touch of pride in the voice now, warming it ever so slightly. It paused, and then continued, in a somewhat bemused manner, almost thoughtful. "I have watched your plight from afar for a long time, Rukia. Your search of a place that would be safe from things that hurt. Your dismay as the years stretched on, and you had yet to find it." Sadness suddenly permeated the crystal tones, a lonely toll in the dead of night. "I wished I could speak with you, then. To comfort you, to let you know that you had a place right here, all along. Yet you could not hear me, and I dared not raise my voice louder. I was so afraid that I might hurt you even more."

The smooth movement of the wind seemed to slow and flicker slightly, flakes of snow twirling in uneven puffs and swells.

"And then one day came, and you opened your mind wide, and I found that you could hear me at last. You spoke my name. Naught but days later, you enter this place." Another pause. Almost as if she were drawing up her courage. "Now, it seems, I can finally tell you what I wished to say all along, at last. I can tell you that…even if you should never find the place you were looking for, you will always be welcome here." And the voice swelled slightly, resolve strengthening each note. "If you deem it as home, it will become such. And I will always be here to guide you."

Abruptly, silence rose, and the voice ceased. Rukia waited, but Sode no Shirayuki did not speak again. There was nothing but the rush of the wind, that last note of affection ringing softly in its wake.

And, at the edge of her consciousness, Rukia knew somehow that it was time to leave.

A wave of dismay threatened to engulf her - she did not want to go, to leave this sanctuary. But at the same time she knew that it would be better to learn more, later, with time.

Time that was not available now.

So she stood there, for a moment, and paused, before bowing her head to the air, the snow.

"…Thank you. Sode no Shirayuki."

There was no reply, but the snow seemed to close in tighter around her for a moment, and she found that she could almost feel the faint imprint of two hands in the guise of numerous snowflakes, brushing her shoulders gently.

The white faded, and all was dark.

And when Rukia opened her eyes, she was greeted with a view of the garden before her and blue morning sky, spreading out above, heralding the balmy spring day to come.

…Though, for some reason, a chill still lingered in her limbs, a freshness that had yet to abate. And the echoes of a frosted silver bell remained in her ears, a faint toll from a tower high above the clouds.

A/N: Well, hope that came out alright. It feels slightly rushed, but…meh, I dunno. I've been wrong about stuff like that before. *glances around*

Rukia's characterization was kinda inputted on the spur of the moment on this one, so…uh, well, I hope it was okay .___.' As to Sode no Shirayuki…well, I just don't know. Really. O.o I guess it…sort of works…?

Ugh, still trying to get back into this fic properly. Constructive crit is definitely welcome. Anybody got any tippers, and I'll take 'em! :D

And now, to words of thanks!

St. Kitsune, D R A G N L I L I E S, KawaiiRiniBunny, Moonrise31, crap-lordess, (congrats on the new name! :D), Beyond Flight (two times!), Cymru na Alethaira, and hu3long2 are all thus thanked immensely. I mean, all of you actually bothered to stick with me throughout this undertaking, and…well, thre just arent'y words to illustrate my appreciation to you all. Thank you so much. :)

Oh, and Merry Christmas to all of you!!