Hello again. Totally different take on the formatting of this chapter.

For this chapter, I wanted Hyorinmaru to be involved. Last time we got Shirayuki, so now it's the boys' turn!

BOLD is Hyorinmaru, the '' are Toshiro, and the italics are what Toshiro is thinking outside the conversation. The rest I trust you all can figure out.

I'm trying to speed things along because I totally did not mean to make these two lovebirds and their story a slow burn.

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, their story would not be a slow burn. It would be canon. Unfortunately, I do not own Bleach.

'There is no possible explanation for how frustrated I am right now.'

Calm yourself, Master. Getting upset will not help her.

'She is suffering and there is nothing I can do to help her!'

It is understandable that you are upset. But letting it overtake you will not help her in the long run. You need to calm down and try to understand what is happening to her.

'That's the point! We don't know what is happening to her, why it's happening, and how to ease her pain!'

Look back, Master. Shirayuki's wielder stated this is happening because she is absorbing massive amounts of reiatsu at one time. She could not contain such power in her body in her current level of power, so the excess leaked out and influenced her physical form.

'I fail to see how pointing out the obvious will help her in this instance.'

Master, please pay attention. She is absorbing reiatsu. Not creating it. Where is it coming from?

'I don't know Hyorinmaru! We're surrounded by reiatsu and it's only getting thicker the closer we get to the Soul Palace.'

But is she absorbing it from the environment or is it coming from somewhere else?

Somewhere else?

'Now that you mention it, I haven't noticed a fluctuation in the surrounding reiatsu. Not when she faints, or after. Then where is it coming from? And why is she the only one impacted?'

Now we're getting somewhere, Master. Next question, why does she see hallucinations of certain people?

'What do you mean? She only saw her 'precious' Vice-Captain.'

Jealousy does not become you, Master. Also, you have nothing to be jealous about. Rukia herself told you she harbored no romantic affection for her previous fukutaicho. Second, the moment she turned away from her brother, she focused on something in the distance and began to mouth "Taicho". It is my belief that she witnessed a hallucination of her Captain before she fell. It makes sense. In fact, it would make these two events a pattern. What do you think that means?

Who gave this dragon permission to call her by her first name?

Focus, Toshiro.

'She saw her Captain? We just felt his reiatsu fill the area. That attack came from him. Though I've never seen it before. What is the relationship between that and the previous event?'

The first event struck after Rukia successfully wielded her bankai. Something her Vice-Captain would have been proud of. Perhaps that is why she saw him?

'But what about this past attack? Captain Ukitake is obviously not in the area and Rukia has not unleashed her reiatsu since the previous Sternritter. That can't be the link.'

What do you make of all this then, Toshiro?

'I don't know what to think. There has been so much to happen in such short a time I am having difficulty keeping up with it all. First the Quincy attacking, becoming a zombie, Rukia helping me, and then falling for her, now Captain Ukitake.'

It is a lot to process Master, but perhaps helping young Rukia is the key to ending this war. Her power is impressive now, and if she achieves an even greater level of power, then we may stand a chance against the Quincy leader. Perhaps getting her to the Soul Palace will provide more answers.

'How can we get her there with her current condition? We don't know what is precipitating these attacks! We need to figure out if these attacks will continue. Our best shot is to find Captain Ukitake and enlist his help with Rukia.'

Captain Kuchki comes over with a grim face. I cease the conversation with Hyorinmaru and turn to him.

"Captain Ukitake has unfortunately passed. It would seem that attack took the last amounts of reiatsu in him. I have reason to believe it was an attempt to protect the Soul King. If we follow the black forms leading up to the sky, we will find ourselves in the Soul Palace".

I look down at Rukia, who is trembling and whimpering.

"We can't leave her here. We have to take her with us."

As I look at Rukia, I notice an abrupt change in her internal temperature. Her core body temperature drops, but instead of feeling anxious, I feel calm. Hyorinmaru is quiet and content looking at her, as if he knows she is all right. Her hair grows a few more centimeters, until it brushes her collarbone. It also continues to wave.

That is not the only change. They are subtle, but I notice just as I seem to notice everything about her now. From her lengthened hair to her longer limbs and body. Her face has begun to lose that child-like roundness, causing her cheekbones to stand out a bit more. I am entranced.

It would seem that the lovely Rukia has curly hair. One would not have guessed with her previous haircut. This look suits her.

Perverted dragon.

I simply appreciate beauty when I see it, young Master.

She takes a deep breath and slowly opens her eyes. She looks around hazily, not orienting immediately to her surrounding. She really is quite lovely.

As she focuses, she blushes and struggles to get up. I notice she has grown quite considerably this time around. If she were paying attention, she would see she is now about 164 centimeters tall.

So lovely.

Rukia's brother jumps in and helps her stand. He informs her of her captain's demise and inquires what happened to her.

Rukia's eyes fill with tears and I force myself to stay where I am. Though I wish to comfort her, I listen to her words and hope to hear a clue regarding her attacks.

"I saw my captain walking towards us. I turned and was about to ask him what happened when I felt that agonizing pain again."

As the tears fall down her face, the sky turns grey and snowflakes begin to fall. An odd change in weather, and I should know, given my zanpaktou controls the weather. The temperature has also dropped considerably, and quite rapidly. The other shinigami begin to shiver, but Rukia is unaware.

I focus my reiatsu towards the weather and notice it is heavily influenced by Rukia's reiatsu. But how? Her zanpaktou controls temperature and can produce snowstorms, but she has not unsheathed it. The only explanation is that her mood is being reflected in her reiatsu, but to have this kind of power is…

It would seem that last attack increased her power quite drastically. It would be prudent to take her to the Soul Palace quickly. Once the Quincy leader is defeated, perhaps the Soul King could provide some enlightenment to her current state?

I take her into my arms and try to reach her heart.

"Rukia, I understand your pain. Captain Ukitake was a dear friend, and his sacrifice will not be forgotten. But right now, we need to go ahead and defeat the very person he died trying to stop. Let's go so his sacrifice is not taken in vain".

She looks at me with those watery violet eyes and it takes everything in me not to kiss her. She must see my sincerity because she wipes her tears away and takes a deep breath. Her battle face comes on.

Kami this woman is something special.

She turns to her brother and tells him to lead the way. He glares at me the entire time, and I know if we survive this war, there will be hell to pay. But even the wrath of Byakuya Kuchki couldn't keep me away from his sister.

It wouldn't be love if it were silenced that easily.

Thus we march on towards the Soul Palace.

AN. Well here we are. Another chapter done. Told you it was different.

For all the Americans reading the story, 164 centimeters is about 5 foot 4. Given Rukia is about 144 centimeters (aka 4 foot 8) in the manga/anime, its a pretty big change. She is literally growing with the story. (Terrible pun).

Let me know what you all think!