Chapter 1.1 - Prologue

With a tone of solemnity and wonderment, he looked at his zanpakuto.

"Oh, I see… that's what it is…"

Carefully running his fingers along the blade's silver edge, he added:

"So this is the truth about my soul… you're more than just… 'Yukibana'..."

(雪花)

Hearing this, the bright teal eyes, which peeked from behind the smooth white armor adorning its face, was wide open.

A feminine voice slipped out from the cracks.

"What are you doing now, boy..?"

While keeping his attention on his sword, the boy, with his slender, calloused and long fingers, grasped the hilt, before saying:

"Please be quiet."

With his left hand's palm on his kashira and his right on the tip of the blade, the espada had only more questions for him.

"W… what are you doing..?"

The two were hovering high in the air, far above the city, and its massive skyline.

His black and white robes whirled and shifted with the wind.

Ignoring her nervous questions now, his face was cheerful.

On his face was a large and wide grin, with dimples that proudly shined, despite the shade casted by his long, light brown and wavy hair.

"Ban… kai."

Alarmed by what he just said, the espada raised its sword, ready to enter into ressurreción if it needed to.

"Yuki…"

The words were difficult for him to even speak, like the energy in his body was being sucked away with each consonant.

"Mayonaka made ni… Yukibana… ga sakebu…"

(真夜中•まで•に•雪花•が•叫ぶ)

As he said these words, he clapped his hands together.

To the Espada's surprise, the sword didn't find itself impaling through the shinigami's hand.

It, in fact, disappeared.

After a brief moment, the redness of his cheeks and nose drained away, leaving the shinigami pale, and his entire body was wrapped with a deathly cold.

His brown hair seemed to fade into a darker grey, followed by it all of his locks bunching up and looked matted; like he had played around in mud for hours.

Now, having undergone these changes, the air surrounding him grew stagnant, like it had halted in time.

His grin quickly fell, leaving him with a blank expression; his wide red eyes, which were exuberant with energy, faded.

"I think this is something… that even you couldn't survive."

Walking towards her without abandon, she looked at him in disbelief and horror.

*****

"Ohka, what the hell are you doing?"

Thoroughly brushing through the small cracks in tatami mats of the barracks, with a thick brush, a red eye peeked out from between his bangs.

"Uhhh… cleaning… I suppose… Lieutenant…?"

Ohka was wearing a track suit, with his jacket wrapped around his waist, a tank top with a picture of a cat meowing on it.

His pants had been rolled up to his knees, while wearing his geta sandals.

"I got put on cleaning detail…"