Sode no Shirayuki

Konoha, year 44, summer.

The evening breeze blew down from the mountain, carrying the green scent of leaves that had basked in the sun all day. Cicadas called from every direction, like an invisible net draped over the whole of Konoha.

In the woods.

Baiye followed Hayate at an unhurried pace, weaving between the trees as though out for a leisurely stroll.

"Damn it!"

Hayate hunched over like a mouse under a cat's gaze. The setting sun stretched his shadow all the way to Baiye's feet. He took a deep breath, pushed off the ground, and darted sharply to the left.

His hands flew through the seals—"Clone Technique!"

After a puff of smoke, two Hayates split up, one heading left and the other right. Baiye slowed down, seemingly trying to decide which was the real one.

Meanwhile, beneath a nearby tree, an inconspicuous stone lay quietly beside a protruding root.

As it happened, Baiye instinctively walked toward the tree.

"Now!"

Hayate revealed himself and leaped up, dropping down over Baiye's head with his wooden sword aimed straight at the back of Baiye's head.

But Baiye had turned around at some point and was smiling right at him.

"Oh, no! Substitution..."

Baiye reached out and caught Hayate precisely by the back of his collar.

"You're improving, though you're still pretty green."

"Tch!" His Substitution Technique interrupted, Hayate hung in midair, his face full of defiance.

"If you hadn't made it a rule that we could only use the Three Body Technique, I definitely wouldn't have been caught so easily."

Baiye let go, and Hayate landed on the ground and rubbed his neck.

"You're underestimating the Three Body Technique."

Hayate pouted.

"The Ninja Academy doesn't teach you those three Ninjutsu just because they're simple. It's also because they're the most practical."

"Hmph, I've never seen anyone become famous because of the Three Body Technique."

Following behind Baiye, Hayate was still unconvinced. When Baiye ignored him, he hurried after him and gave him a tug.

Poof!

As the smoke cleared, a stone nearby suddenly stood up under Hayate's dumbfounded gaze.

"When did you do that?"

Baiye patted him on the shoulder.

"The Three Body Technique really isn't a particularly powerful Ninjutsu, but once you've mastered it, it can be a strong trump card."

"That... that's amazing!"

Hayate jerked his head toward Baiye, his eyes sparkling.

[Changed character (Gekko Hayate)'s fate (minutely). Fate points +1.]

[Number of changes to character (Gekko Hayate)'s fate: 100.]

[Special reward triggered: lottery ticket ×1.]

Baiye paused in his tracks.

He didn't know whether it was because Hayate was a named character in the original story or because Baiye had raised him since he was little, but whether through treatment or training, getting fate points from Hayate had always been much easier than getting them from others.

That was already a hundred times?

What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect a reward like this.

He patted Hayate on the head and silently thought, Use.

The system panel flickered, and a card slowly turned over in his field of vision—

Then the world changed.

Baiye found himself standing on a snowy plain.

The sky was gray-white, and snow drifted down from unseen heights, falling silently to the ground. In the distance stood a dead tree, its branches hung with icicles. The wind was strong, but it wasn't cold—or rather, the feeling of cold was overwhelmed by something more fundamental.

"Are you the one who drew my Zanpakuto?"

A voice came from behind him. Baiye turned around.

A woman stood there. She had short black hair, violet eyes, and skin as white as snow. She wore a Soul Reaper's black robes with a white haori over them.

Her expression was subdued, but not indifferent; it was more like quiet composure.

Rukia Kuchiki.

"Sode no Shirayuki?" Baiye said.

Rukia nodded. She didn't ask who Baiye was or where they were. She simply turned and walked toward the dead tree.

"Watch closely."

She drew her sword.

The blade was pure white, gleaming coldly beneath the gray-white sky. She gripped it with both hands, pointed its tip toward the sky, then slowly brought it down.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

It was less a slash than a dance.

Ice crystals formed in the air along the blade's path—one, two, countless more. Snowflakes no longer fell from the sky, but poured from the sword's tip, filling heaven and earth. The dead tree froze, the ground froze, and in that instant, the whole world became a motionless white.

Baiye stood where he was, watching it all.

He didn't feel cold. But he knew that the area covered by that flash of the blade would be completely different.

Rukia sheathed her sword. The frozen world didn't disappear, but she had already turned and started walking back.

"Sode no Shirayuki is an ice-and-snow-type Zanpakuto. Its power isn't 'creating ice,' but 'taking away all heat from everything the blade reaches.'" She stopped without turning around. "She's powerful, but dangerous too."

"I can only demonstrate it for you this once. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

She continued forward, her figure gradually vanishing into the snow.

Baiye stood where he was, holding the white tachi that had appeared in his hand out of nowhere. The blade was cold, but its chill wasn't piercing; it was clear.

He took a deep breath and copied Rukia's movements, gripping the sword with both hands, pointing its tip toward the sky, then slowly bringing it down.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

The blade cut through the air. Ice crystals poured from its tip, covering the ground for several meters in front of him. It lacked Rukia's overwhelming grandeur, but the ice crystals were indeed glowing, breathing, responding to him.

Baiye looked down at the sword in his hand and fell silent for a moment.

Then the world returned to normal.

[Lottery complete. Obtained: Rukia Kuchiki · Sode no Shirayuki (Shikai).]

[Description: An ice-and-snow-type Zanpakuto capable of launching area-freezing attacks.]

[Uses: 1/1.]

[Additional rewards: Soul Strength +100 (513), Hadō experience +1000 (C-rank), Bakudō experience +1000 (C-rank).]

The illusion had seemed to last a long time, but in reality, it had been only an instant.

But he could indeed feel that he had grown stronger.

Suppressing the urge to test his Hadō and Bakudō, Baiye looked at the two Zanpakuto abilities he had obtained so far and felt a discomfort he couldn't quite put into words.

Last time, changing Sakumo's fate had given him Gin's Shinsō.

Sakumo used a short sword, and Gin's Shinsō was also a short sword.

This time... he looked at Hayate's bangs, stubbornly poking out from under his head covering, and thought of Rukia's trademark lock of hair...

I can't help feeling the system's lottery is a little arbitrary, can I?

Hopefully it's just my imagination.

Partway along, Baiye raised an eyebrow and stopped.

"Brother?" Hayate called to him from up ahead.

"Looks like you'll have to go home on your own."

"What's wrong?"

"I asked someone to arrange a meeting with someone today. I didn't expect him to get here so quickly."

"A meeting? With who?"

Hayate was fascinated. He had never seen his brother arrange to meet a friend before.

"Hahahaha!"

With that strange laughter, Hayate saw a green figure come charging from nearby at great speed, kicking up a gust of wind.

"I knew you'd come looking for me!"

Might Guy skidded to a stop in front of Baiye, raising a cloud of dust. He wore his trademark green jumpsuit, his Forehead Protector tied around his forehead, his hands on his hips, and his teeth gleaming.

"Let's have a passionate duel between ninjas!"

Hayate's mouth fell open in an O. He looked at Might Guy, then at Baiye, and tugged at Baiye's sleeve in disbelief.

"Brother... he's the one you were looking for?"

"Yeah."

"You... why..." Faced with the weirdo in the jumpsuit, Hayate found it a little hard to accept.

Baiye glanced down at Hayate.

"Don't underestimate him."

"But..."

"A senior once said Might Guy's future accomplishments definitely wouldn't be lacking... and that senior was a very good judge of people."

Hayate froze for a moment and took another look at Might Guy, but still found that green jumpsuit too glaring.

Baiye turned to look at Might Guy.

"Don't rush."

"I've already waited so long!" Might Guy's fists cracked as he clenched them. "Youth can't wait!"

"...All right, then let's talk after we fight!"

With Might Guy in this state, he might not listen no matter how long Baiye spent explaining. They might as well just fight.

In a clearing, Baiye and Might Guy stood facing each other.

Hayate squatted on a wooden post in the distance, his chin in his hands as he watched with a reluctant expression.

"Come on!"

Might Guy pushed off the ground and charged like a cannonball. Baiye didn't dodge—he wanted to try taking one of Might Guy's punches head-on.

The punch came.

Baiye crossed his arms to block, and a tremendous force traveled from his arms through his whole body. His feet slid back two steps, his soles plowing two shallow grooves in the dirt.

Baiye shook out his tingling arms. Might Guy was much stronger than he had expected. If they fought head-on, he wouldn't last many rounds.

"Aren't you going to use your sword? Don't worry about hurting me!"

Might Guy looked at the tachi at Baiye's waist.

"No," Baiye said. "I want to test my Taijutsu."

Might Guy's eyes lit up. "Good! But I won't hold back!"

"Haha, don't underestimate me too much either!"

"Fight!"

Might Guy's second punch came, punching straight through Baiye's chest.

An afterimage? So fast!

Might Guy reacted quickly, ducking to avoid a punch coming from the side, but Baiye's next attack was already there—a knee.

Might Guy blocked it with his arm and retreated two steps.

"Not bad!" Might Guy grew excited. "Again!"

Baiye didn't hold back either. He activated Shunpo, vanishing from where he stood and beginning to flicker around Might Guy.

Might Guy held both arms in front of himself and focused on Baiye's movements.

The left!

Might Guy turned left, trying to block the attack first and then counter.

Unfortunately, Baiye's attack was still a feint this time; his movements had simply been too convincing.

Bang!

Might Guy forced himself to turn, but he was still a step too late and was kicked a step to the side.

But he didn't fall.

"His physical conditioning is too strong."

Baiye seemed to have the upper hand, but he couldn't land an effective blow on Might Guy at all.

"You're too fast!" Might Guy shouted. "I can't keep up!"

Watching Might Guy grow more excited as they fought, Baiye couldn't help letting out a low, amused curse.

What a monster.

The fight continued, and as time passed, he gradually adapted to Baiye's speed. Though he couldn't take the offensive, he didn't give Baiye any more openings either.

After more than ten exchanges, Baiye slowed down. His physical foundation was still too poor; he couldn't keep up such high-intensity sparring for long.

"Stop." Baiye stepped back twice and raised a hand.

Might Guy stopped immediately.

"I concede," Baiye said.

"You didn't lose!" Might Guy protested anxiously. "I couldn't even hit you! And you haven't used your sword!"

"We agreed beforehand to use only Taijutsu." Baiye caught his breath. "If we keep going, you'll hit me sooner or later, and I can't take many of your punches."

"All right."

Since Baiye had put it that way, Might Guy still wanted more, but he couldn't keep attacking someone who had already stopped.

"Oh, oh, oh! Since I won, I'll reward myself by hopping around Konoha on one leg three times!"

Seeing Might Guy about to dash off, instantly fired up, Baiye hurriedly called him back.

"Wait, didn't I say I needed to talk to you about something..."

"Oh, oh, oh! Right, right, go ahead!" Holding his long-strided pose, Might Guy turned his head and gestured for Baiye to speak.

Baiye: Did you have to listen in that pose?

In the distance, Hayate, who had just been stunned by the high-level Taijutsu showdown, covered his face again.

"I want to learn Taijutsu from you."

"...What?"

"I want to learn Taijutsu from you."

Might Guy froze and dropped his strange pose.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Ohhhhh!!!"

Might Guy suddenly sprang into action, shouting incomprehensibly as he darted back and forth between several large trees.

"He... what's wrong with him?"

A little frightened, Hayate hurried over to Baiye.

"Maybe it's because... he's happy?"

Bang!

Might Guy slammed down in front of Baiye and Hayate like a cannonball, then burst out of the smoke and grabbed Baiye by the shoulders.

"I'll tell you everything I know! Thank you, Baiye!"

Moved as though his years of perseverance had finally been acknowledged, all the laughter, mockery, and scorn he had endured over the years turned into tears that came pouring out.

"I should be the one thanking you."

Baiye replied with a smile.

That lasted until he saw Might Guy take a green bodysuit out of his bag.

"I have to give you a gift! Put it on, and let's burn with youth together!"

Baiye stared at the bodysuit in silence for three seconds.

"...There's no need for that."

"Don't be shy!"

"No, I'm really not being shy! Look, even my little brother doesn't dare look at me anymore!"

"Try it on!"

"Get away from me!"