So far, our heavenly guardian has met everyone from his Schnee woman's family, so it's about time for her to meet his side of the family. Well, this one might not be a family member in a traditional sense, but it's the closest thing he has here. A mighty dragon can act as a protective parent too if needed!

10

Any normal person would've freaked out to find their body being covered bit by bit with ice, but this was someone known as an ice queen here. To see her just frown a bit without showing any sign of resistance as she let herself being encased completely shouldn't be that much of a surprise. In the end, the sight found within the new ice formation that now stood facing its near identical, original counterpart was that of a maiden resting peacefully with a serene yet purposeful look on her features.

Nonetheless, after watching the whole thing in alarm, a certain shape-sifting woman who still considered herself a normal person couldn't help but glower in suspicion at the one she knew to be responsible for it.

"You! What have you done?!"

"Oh?" The shown surprise was clearly fake. "I didn't know you care, Raven-san, seeing how -"

"Stop being insufferable for a second, you creep!"

That might be too much to ask.

Still, perhaps it was because he had begun to have a soft spot for her, but said creep decided to give her a break for once.

"To be honest, I don't know for sure myself." His gaze landed contemplatively on the pair of ice formations. "I just used a little spell to bridge Mrs Hitsugaya's consciousness with the great spirit's presence that lingers within the ice. Still, as concerning as it appears, the fact that we received a response alone can be considered a success. Now it is left only in the good lady's own hands to get her beloved back."

"... It looks dangerous, though. What if she fails and gets herself trapped too?"

"That is the risk I'm sure she is more than ready to take."

"I don't get it..." Her troubled scowl showed that much. "Yeah, sure, those two are practically married and all, but why risk that much?"

Interesting question.

Honestly, it was quite amusing for the frighteningly perceptive Kisuke Urahara to find that a fine woman her age could be rather clueless in this matter. He sure wouldn't pass such an opportunity to share his expertise here. It needed to look convincing, though, so he turned toward her scowling form as dramatically as possible before closing the distance between them until he could gently touch her shoulder.

"It might seem corny, or maybe dreamy coming from this humble gentleman, but the answer is love, my dear Raven-san."

"Ha ha..." She almost cringed in disgust. "You can't be serious."

"But I am!" He fired up suddenly for some bizarre reason. "Even a bitter oba-san like you should never doubt the power of love! A Bankai is weak without love. Love conquers all. Do you know that even The Almighty Ywach was defeated in the end thanks to love?"

Bullshit.

Raven had no clue who this Ywach was, but she could call his stupid blabbering bullshit with absolute certainty right away. It was all just a pathetic excuse from him to touch her. So, feeling irritated enough already with being called oba-san, she shook off his dirty hand harshly with a warning glare.

"Fuck off, you creep!"

Ouch.

Having his playful advances rejected so cruelly by an oba-san surprisingly hit as hard as having them ignored by those schoolgirls he greeted religiously every morning. It inevitably made the midlife crisis he suffered in recent years felt more real as he stepped back with a defeated sigh. Perhaps it was best for him to just wait in silence here.

Easier said than done.

As moments passed, he found himself sneaking glances at his scowling companion, and it just didn't make sense to him. He always prided himself to be a man of culture who appreciated tall and buxom women the most. And this feisty oba-san, as ravishing as she looked at her age, just couldn't quite meet that criteria enough. Regardless, he was in a dire need to put a stop to this problematic situation before she made him regret it herself.

"You know, Raven-san, your company is much appreciated. But I can't help wondering why you're still here now that your job's pretty much done." He then suddenly faked a gasp. "Could it be..."

"..."

"Could it be that you find yourself already feeling attached to this humble yet handsome shopkeeper?"

"What the -"

"Oh, it's a pleasure, Raven-san! Believe me. But it cannot be. You know Tai-san is a good drinking buddy, so it would be awkward if we suddenly just -"

A fearsome blade stopped his dramatic performance abruptly. He, of course, just caught it in mid swing with his fan, but the death glare the wielder sent along toward him still landed head on, making him quite feel bad. Those red eyes seemed to burn with killing intent even as the blade was eventually pulled away.

Still, he had a point.

Why was she still here?

Surely, Raven had no time to waste especially with such a creep. She should've gotten as far away from him as possible the moment she was done here. There was just no reason to stick around this long. The fact that he was so surprisingly powerful did interest her admittedly, but it was nothing more than that, surely not worth putting up with his insufferable presence any longer.

With a tired sigh, she made up her mind then.

"Fine. I'm leaving."

"Raven-san... You know I was just messing with you."

"Tell Toushi to give me a call once he's back."

"Oh, of course." For some reason, he looked genuinely disappointed. "You still have his phone with you, so feel free to give me a call too if you need help."

"I'd rather not."

Ouch.

And just like that.

The short adventure of the bird and the shopkeeper finally ended with the former flying away without giving the latter even a second glance.

―

When one adventure ended, another started. This one was more like a journey, however, a lonesome one that in a sense, considering the otherworldly feels of it, seemed like a dream. Even so, it just seemed real despite all the logical reasons that proved the contrary.

The chilling wind amidst the snowy darkness...

A blizzard.

Following the fading of her consciousness, Winter had not expected that its return would bring herself standing in the midst of a raging blizzard. If she wasn't her cold and calculating self here, surely, she wouldn't have been able to remain this calm. As it was, despite the harshness of her surroundings, her focused mind kept reminding her that it was not real. Or, to be exact, it was not happening in the real world where her body was supposedly encased in ice. That was a sign that, not unlike in dreams, her presence here was represented by her consciousness only.

It was a quite concerning situation she had found herself in, however, it also suggested that she had succeeded in her first step.

As it appeared, the great guardian spirit had responded to her plea and brought her, at least her consciousness, to its divine realm.

Frozen Heaven...

Granted, her vision was greatly limited due to the blizzard and the surrounding darkness, but it sure didn't look like a heaven, not that it really mattered. What should actually concern her was the fact that so far, there seemed to be no sign of the spirit she needed to talk with. According to the dubious shopkeeper, she would find it here in the place that was also supposed to serve as its master's inner world. She had been told rather suspiciously that there was no chance she would miss this particular spirit's presence. That could mean it had not showed itself to her for a reason then.

A trial perhaps?

To see if she was really worthy?

Honestly, she didn't carry as much confidence with her here as normal, just considering the fact that she was a Quincy. The chance that a legendary Zanpakuto spirit would ever give an approval to someone of her race, based on the bloody history, should be pretty slim. That might explain why the first greeting she received here had come in the form of a raging blizzard.

She was not welcomed...

No matter.

The fact that she had been given a chance instead of being eliminated on sight should at least mean something. This spirit belonged to her man, thus it should be perfectly reasonable to expect that it wouldn't dare to bring her any harm. Besides, she kind of doubted it could be that scary as the shopkeeper implied, not that it would matter much.

She would make this Hyorinmaru bow down to her in the end like it probably did to its master.

With that in mind, the proud Quincy felt her confidence invigorated considerably, giving her a much needed push to brace through the blizzard. The chilling wind was relentless, but she kept on walking. There was no way to tell how long time had passed in this place still with nothing in sight. It was quite disheartening, but still not enough to deter her, not until the wind suddenly brought fort to her a faint whisper.

'My blade has bathed with the bloods of your kind...'

The eeriness alone made her shudder. If it was the spirit's intention to intimidate her, it appeared to work effectively enough. She had to stop for a moment in attempt to maintain her composure before cautiously looking around to see where the voice came from. As she did, however, her close surroundings brightened up slowly with the wind dying down until she could make out a small figure in the distance.

Hyorinmaru?

Naturally, she came to that assumption right away. And there was admittedly a sense of relief that soothed her at the notion that the spirit was not some kind of colossal beast. As she moved closer, however, all those things were quickly thrown out of the window with the figure being revealed to be a preteen boy who just looked familiar to her.

Toushiro?!

This boy looked just like his younger self that she had found the picture of in his old Scroll. If there was any doubt in her mind, it disappeared completely then at the sight of the Shinigami Captain attire he wore and of course the distinctive long-sword on his back. Still, she was honestly surprised that he used to be this short, remembering that even she used to be taller than that at that age. This would've been enough to make her laugh a bit if not for the intimidatingly cold look he had on his adorable face as if he was ready to kill.

At that moment, some other figures, those of adults, came into view. She didn't know any of them except for the fact that they were all apparently Quincy like her. She would have been excited here to see the Heilig Bogen they wielded if only those signature spirit weapons were not all directed toward the lone, young Shinigami. It was then that she noticed the pure hatred in their expressions. However, before she could make any sense of the situation, the gleaming blade of a Zanpakuto was drawn in a flash to kill each one of those Quincy in cold blood without any chance for resistance.

Here, if she was in her physical body, her blood would've reacted violently for sure at the tragic scene. That was why she knew that none of this was real. Even then, it did little to lessen the pain in her chest because she also knew that long ago, this had truly happened. She had learned that much from him, but still, seeing it herself was another matter entirely.

What was Hyorinmaru's intention by showing her this?

She couldn't even guess the answer, but it doesn't seem to matter. After the scene ended, she decided to walk further only to find another one play out before her just like the first one. There was nothing she could do to make it stop despite her protests. One after another, the scenes of slaughter appeared in her way, and no matter what she did, she just couldn't run away from them. Her eyes had long started to water, but it was the sight of a young girl who was just barely able to use Blut fallen by the blade that made her break down in tears.

Unforgivable...

By this point, Winter would be lying she said there was no resentment growing in her heart toward Toushiro Hitsugaya for his unforgivable actions against her ancestral race. She let out this resentment tearily by glaring at the boy he supposedly used to be. However, what she found on that young, childish face made her stop suddenly. A heartbreaking look of defeat had broken through his cold features as he tried to shoulder all the guilt from those actions.

It was here that she was reminded of that private talk in her airship where he made a truly unbelievable admission. From what she understood back then, it all had not happened for no reason. And his decision to put those Quincy out of their misery, even though still unforgivable, was supposedly to spare them from an even worse fate. The fateful decision itself had apparently come only after one tragic turn of events that now she couldn't help but wonder about.

As if in response, the wind picked up again and brought fort another whisper.

'My blade has tasted the blood in your veins...'

Now it simply made no sense.

A scowl marred her features, but she was nonetheless thankful for the unexpected distraction. It could help her get herself together and continue onward. She should've known better, however, that something else was already waiting for her. Only a few steps deeper into the darkness of the still raging blizzard, her close surroundings brightened up with the wind dying down again. She braced herself immediately then for another mental torment.

The increasingly familiar sight of her partner's much younger self again appeared before her, but unexpectedly enough, he didn't look about ready to slaughter anyone this time. He was not even standing tensely like before. Instead, he was seated at a table that somehow had come with this scene. What really caught her off guard, however, was the appearance of a female figure sitting opposite from him. It wasn't easy to get a clear view, but after a little trying, she stiffened suddenly in shock.

It was her...

To her disbelief, the mysterious woman looked exactly like her. Even the voice sounded just like hers as she engaged in a seemingly one-sided conversation with the boy over what looked to be ice creams. The sheer strangeness of it all convinced her that it was probably just a fictional illusion this time, but still, she decided to stay and watch. Her look-alike here was apparently sharing about a lonely life story in the absence of a dearly missed brother. It was getting boring, but perhaps it would've been better to stay that way, because what came next was truly something she didn't wish to see.

The lighthearted moment ended sadly with the horrific truth being revealed as things became serious.

A hopeless plea...

A heartbreaking acceptance...

A tragic goodbye with a blade through the heart that ended it all.

Winter felt as if it was her own heart being pierced as her look-alike drew one last breath with such a bittersweet smile. Her eyes, wide with shock and pain, uncertainly sought the murderer's face, only to find a lone tear having fallen down his cheek. The shocking scene began to fade afterward, and only then she realized that it was her very name that had weakly come from his mouth with his farewell.

No way...

What was the chance that there used to be another Quincy named Winter Schnee once upon a time who happened to share an exact resemblance with her?

However, the whisper told that the blade had tasted her blood...

It all dreadfully pointed toward one unbelievable conclusion. She still retained enough sensibility even in this situation to put things together and understand that much. Coming to acceptance was another matter entirely, however, and would definitely require some effort. Not that she'd have the chance to even start anytime soon apparently.

The blizzard began to return in full force, cloaking the surroundings in darkness again, but all it accomplished was making her finally snap.

"Enough! Bad Quincy is not welcomed, I get it, but enough with it! What a rude spirit you are!"

She looked absolutely scary here, enough to absolutely scare said spirit's master for sure, but it mattered little. Such concepts did not apply to the legendary spirit itself. Instead of backing down, it responded by finally showing the first visual sign of its presence in this realm.

There in the distance, breaking slowly through the darkness of the blizzard, a huge, crimson pair of eyes glowed ominously as if in a glare.

Uh oh.

As it seemed, it was the scary woman who ended up being scared, not that she could be blamed for such an instinctive reaction. On the contrary, it was quite admirable that she was able to recover quickly enough and in fact, glare back. Foolish bravery it might be in face of something far beyond her own imagination, but it was surprisingly also what confirmed her worthiness in the end.

The blizzard in Frozen Heaven completely died down at last to reveal the one who reigned over it...

Hyorinmaru

There was nothing more majestic than the sight of the colossal ice dragon revealing its full form in the frozen landscape that now glittered beautifully with light finally shining upon it. The woman in white looked and felt so insignificantly small in its presence as she stood paralyzed, frozen in fear and amazement. Not breaking contact with her now undeniably wide eyes, it leaned down its massive head to have a closer look at her.

"How old are you, little Quincy?"

"T- Twenty one years old."

"So young." It seemed to frown in disapproval. "My master will need to answer why he chose to mate with an underage Quincy hatchling."

"Excuse me?!"

"It does not seem so wrong anymore, however, after putting the fact that you have lived for a thousand years the first time into consideration."

Right...

Winter, being the sensible woman that she was, gave how scared, intimidated, and probably offended she was no more thought as she fell into contemplation.

"So it was really me..."

"Indeed. I know for certain since it was through my blade that thousand years of life ended. You have the right to feel betrayed, little Quincy."

"..."

"Unforgivable. That is what you think. Give it up then, and you will be returned to the life you have now."

As cruel as it was, it was better this way.

Hyorinmaru had every intention to keep its master safe within the barrier until he recovered completely and regained his full power as a Shiningami no matter how long it would take. This woman should not intervene, and by the pained and conflicted look now on her face, she appeared to be no longer a concern. Her time here had come to an end as it seemed, until all of a sudden, she looked up with a surprisingly determined yet rather accusing look.

"I see. So that's how it is. You're like an overprotective parent who doesn't want their precious boy to date the wrong girl, you know that?"

"..."

Giving the dragon not much time to be dumbfounded, she gathered all the courage she had to stand up to it albeit shakily and make a point.

"Yes, it's unthinkable to just forgive him at the moment, even after considering the situation at that time. He still slaughtered my people. He still murdered that woman..." Again, tears brimmed in her eyes. "Me..."

"..."

"But you will not get in the way between us. It was fate that he came into my life again. He is mine! It's up to me to make him pay if I wish to."

So daring.

Perhaps a different approach was required.

"How futile. You have seen firsthand the danger he possesses when you first met him, little Quincy, a great darkness that gave him no choice but to give up his being as a Shinigami to prevent it from taking over and making him kill you the second time."

"You mean..." It painfully dawned on her. "Back then..."

"With his lost of power, the darkness was successfully weakened, but not for long. I intentionally cut off our connection for that reason. In the current, vulnerable human state he has ended up into, he is more susceptible than ever to this darkness because of its close link with me."

"What do you mean close?"

"Take a look at my shadow, little Quincy."

Warily, she did as told, only to stumble back immediately in shock as it finally dawned on her that the massive, dark shadow underneath the dragon's colossal form was able to move on its own as if it was alive.

"It wants to kill me..."

"It is poisonous for Quincy like you, but since you are here not in your physical body, there is no need to worry. It has no other intention than to take over my master. That is why it is in your best interest to give up on him if you don't want your second life to be at risk."

That should do it.

"No."

"You don't understand what you're getting yourself into, little Quincy."

"Stop calling me that! I am a proud Quincy, yes, but I have a name. It's Winter."

"You don't understand, still."

Maybe...

But...

"I wonder what it'd take for you to understand yourself. You might see me as weak now, but I will become stronger for him if needed, so please..." It was clear that she was not used to show this much emotions. "Give him back, Hyorinmaru, because I will never give up on him."

Silence prevailed then in Frozen Heaven as both the Quincy and the Zanpakuto spirit fell into a standoff until eventually, the latter let out a rumbling sigh.

"You win, little Winter."

"Thank you, good dragon, but I am not little." Blue eyes narrowed scoldingly. "Give a lady more respect, would you?"

"Very well, Winter lady."

"Much better."

What a smug little lady.

Now that she had won, it even looked as if she expected the mighty dragon to bow down, but it just came off as amusing instead of offensive. It might even be worth to entertain her a bit. Her breath hitched childishly then as she got completely caught off guard by the little bow given. And this little display was enough to elicit a rumbling boom that sounded conspicuously like a chuckle from the dragon's great maw as its head rose up again.

"You have my approval, Winter lady. I might even be willing to lend you power once you're ready."

"R- Really?"

"Your name and personality sure do fit my nature perfectly."

Right.

She looked kind of unimpressed by the implication before frowning suddenly.

"But I'm a Quincy..."

"We will see once it comes down to it."

"I was getting my hopes up basically for nothing then, but, whatever." As tempting as it was, she refused to pout. "What now?"

"It is time for you to leave. My master will be released. You are free to do what you please with him from then on."

That sounded good to her, satisfyingly good.

―

Not good...

"I don't feel good..." The strange nausea hit again. "Ugh, I don't have time for this."

Standing over a sink of one particular restroom in Atlas Medical Facility, the young military commander moodily wiped up her mouth before glaring at her tired-looking reflection in the mirror.

Winter Schnee was not supposed to look that pitiful!

Being the proud woman that she was, she couldn't even afford to get sick. Anything that could make her look any less than perfectly poised and proper was intolerable. It would also be embarrassing for her to end up as a patient too after coming here as a daily visitor for weeks. If this was what she got in return for being a good and caring woman for her partner who up to this point still had the audacity to take his time waking up, she would snap.

It had been almost a month for goodness' sake!

She was a busy woman, even more busy now, considering her responsibility as a commander. The looming threat from Land of Darkness, after what happened to Vale, had compelled the military to be alert more than ever. Day after day, she had to attend meetings, arrange important operations, and often keep an eye on that dubious shopkeeper whom her esteemed superior had somehow decided to employ as well. It all gave her a headache already, so getting sick was the last thing she needed, not that she had any choice in the matter.

Her reflection, with those dull, slate blue gaze, reminded her that she was still just a human despite her being convinced otherwise for having Quincy blood. If it turned out that the property of being immune to common sickness was exclusive only to pure-blood, she would smash the mirror in frustration. She was already tempted to do just that after seeing the pitiful view it showed.

Unlike Weiss, she never cared much about looking pretty, but this was simply unacceptable.

Ironically enough here, her uncharacteristic fussing about her look made her nausea feel not much like of a priority anymore. She was too busy washing her face now in a rather desperate attempt to hide her presently not so good condition. For a brief moment, she even regretted the fact that she was not feminine enough to bring some makeups around with her. Such things might be helpful here, though in the end, she still managed on her own, thankfully enough.

It was not like the one she was about to visit would even be awake enough to see her, anyway. Even if he suddenly decided to wake up, it still wouldn't matter much, since aside from his strange obsession with seeing her hair down, he never seemed to care much about her looks in general. That kind of stung actually now that she thought about it. That man didn't deserve her looking good, she decided grumpily then as she left the restroom, even more so after making her so worried in the past weeks.

Still, despite the silly frustration she currently felt toward her partner, the moody woman honestly couldn't wait to return to his side. The impatient look she had as she pretty much barged into the same VIP room that he also used his first time here in Atlas showed that much. She seemed to barely care about the disruption she caused, and if it could make him finally wake up, probably all the better to her.

Alas, all it did was making the already present visitor in the room scowl chidingly.

"My eldest daughter. Would it hurt you to act like a normal woman for once?"

"I don't know. Would it hurt you to act like a normal, non meddling mother for once?" She gladly returned the scowl after closing the door behind her. "I swear it seems that you come here more often than me."

"And what's wrong with that? Are you throwing tantrum just because I came here earlier than you today?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I was already here earlier, but had to visit the restroom."

That should be her victory, but then, unexpectedly enough, her mother looked her over rather concernedly in return.

"You sure took a while, though. Is everything okay?"

"Yes."

"Winter, are you okay?"

Since when did this old woman become so perceptive?

Honestly, as much as she appreciated her mother's recent changes for the better, sometimes, Winter missed being left alone. Granted, maybe it was just her being moody, but at the moment, she kind of missed those days of being seen as less important than some bottles of liquor. Her mother had no right to meddle with her life now. She was a perfectly capable adult who commanded a whole military unit, so even the concern was pretty much unneeded. However, after seeing how genuine it was on that lightly wrinkled face, she just had no heart to respond rudely.

"I'm fine, mother." Hopefully, it looked convincing enough. "It's probably just all the stress and fatigue from work finally catching up to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But you don't look so well..."

This was getting irritating.

"You're imagining things."

"That may be true if you don't have the look of a woman who just had a morning sickness."

"You're being delusional now!"

"I prefer to call it hopeful."

What a smug old woman.

Feeling increasingly fed up, the daughter just huffed in response before taking a seat opposite of her mother with the patient bed separating them. The patient himself, still lying unconscious, seemed to act as a barrier that prevented them from tearing each other's hair out. It worked in a sense, interestingly enough, seeing how the mother's attention was quickly focused back on him. The daughter, however, strangely frowned at this, looking kind of conflicted somehow.

"Mother..." She hesitated a bit. "You know that he is in actuality far from the fairy tale hero you seemingly believe him to be, don't you?"

"Hmm?"

"You see, in another world, there used to be a whole unique race of holy -"

"You mean Quincy?"

Wait, what?!

"You know?"

At her apparent surprise, her mother just smiled slightly with a soft, melancholic look.

"Your grandfather used to tell me stories about them when I was little. I loved those stories. It actually surprises me that you know them too. Do you know that you were named after our favorite Quincy?"

"W- Winter?" Her eyes widened instantly. "... What was she like in the story?"

"Hmm, just like you, I think. Except she didn't like fighting and had no problem wearing dresses."

Ouch.

The unexpected jab hit the mark head-on, leaving the daughter speechless, though she quickly got over it. It was simply not important compared to the ironic coincidence behind her name. However, now that she thought about it, it might not be that much of a coincidence. There had to be a reason that she was a Schnee both in the past and present. And this might be a chance for her to get some clues about it.

"Mother, tell me more about this Winter. Was her last name also Schnee?"

"Well, as far as I remember, father just called her Winter, so, who knows?"

"Maybe you're just going senile and forget about it..."

"Hey! Watch your tongue, young lady." Truthfully, the mother was not that offended, seeing how quickly she got over it. "I still remember just fine, even little details like how your grandfather always referred to her as the best big sister any Quincy could ever hope to have."

That sounded like...

If she wasn't the poised and proper woman that she was, Winter would have her mouth hanging open with disbelief at the sheer absurdity of it. Learning that they might possibly have been their own grandfather's older sister in a past life could do that to anyone. Even she was no exception, though she could recover quickly enough to not raise any suspicion. It was best to get back on track.

"Enough with Winter." She almost cringed at the sheer awkwardness. "If you know about Quincy, mother, have you ever heard about Shinigami as well?"

"Sure. They were said to be polar opposites, like there was basically no one Quincy hated more than Shinigami."

"Then... What if I tell you that Toushiro Hitsugaya was a prominent Shinigami, one who had slaughtered hundreds of Quincy?"

Here, unexpectedly, the mother's perceptiveness seemed to show again.

"That is unforgivable, Winter, no matter the reason. However..." Gently, her hand caressed the snowy locks before her. "To me, this gentleman would always be the lovable hero who took my lonely daughter's heart away."

"Goodness... Ugh, you just made my nausea return."

"Morning sickness."

"Stop being delusional, old woman!"

It was worth it, though.

Said old woman just felt happy now that she was able to ruffle her previously distant daughter's feathers easily after having regretfully been like strangers to each other for years, but it was probably enough for today.

"I was just being hopeful, but, alright. We should be more concerned about your poor intended's condition for the time being."

"I swear, at this rate, his prosthetic arm is going to be finished before he even wakes up."

"Oh? Is it nearly done?"

"Yes. With our company's support, the process to build the CFRD frame could be shortened considerably. The only thing left is the installation for the artificial nervous system, the last time I checked."

"That sounds great and all, but make sure the design is artistic enough to befit him. And, oh, it would be nice to have it sport SDC logo too, I think."

Seriously...

Winter was actually fine and all with artistic design since she was quite an artistic person herself, but this was just ludicrous.

"Mother. The fact alone that it uses Carbon Fiber Reinforced Dust as its frame means that it is designed for combat, not for show, so, no. No logo."

"Fortunately, you have no say in this matter, miss commander, since you're no longer the company's heir."

Ouch.

"How could you, old woman?!"

"Oh, come on. Just a nice, little logo. I'm sure he'll like it. You're acting like a domineering wife already."

That was the mother's total victory.

The scandalized look on the daughter's face told that much. Her mouth opened and closed slightly for a moment, but nothing just came out of it as she failed miserably to muster a comeback. She got teasingly rewarded with some cooing for that, and it was just too much even for her supposedly cold self. Surprisingly enough, however, instead of snapping in return as expected, she just leaned forward to bury her now blushing face on the soft mattress before her.

How cute!

It had been so long since this giddy mother saw her eldest daughter looking so embarrassed, but as she held herself back from squealing, an unexpected sight suddenly caught her attention and made her gasp in excitement.

Winter, too busy hiding her face, was caught off guard when she felt her signature bun being undone slowly. Her mind was running immediately, guessing what actually happened for a moment before she finally looked up. And, just as she guessed, the hand that had been lying motionless close to her was gone. Her partner had apparently used that remaining hand of his to sneakily free her hair the first moment he finally woke up. There was no doubt how happy she was to see this, but first thing first, it was prudent to welcome him back with her familiar unimpressed look.

"You really love seeing my hair down, don't you?"

"I didn't expect to ever see it again."

That sounded kind of sweet, but...

"Why does it seem like you only miss my hair?"

"Not true." His confused frown looked so convincing. "I missed the rest of your body too."

The third occupant of the room snickered a little at that despite her best effort not to intrude, and it was enough to make her daughter blush again indignantly.

"Don't be cocky after having only slept with me once."

"Then, would it be possible to up the number anytime soon, Miss Schnee?"

"The answer is no if you go back to calling me that."

"Understood. Winter."

Good.

Maybe her mother wasn't wrong in calling her domineering, but it just felt good hearing him say her name. She might even have a thing for it just like he did for seeing her hair down. To her, with the dark, distant past still haunting her, these little things served as important reminder of how much what they had between them in the present meant to her, how much he meant to her. She could see here that her mother was also right about him. Unfortunately, just remembering those sickeningly sweet words seemed to make her nausea return again.

The man in her thought looked at her in concern immediately, but, with her oversensitiveness about the subject, she glared stubbornly in response.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm sorry, but you don't look quite well, like you're having -"

"Not morning sickness!"

The flashback in chapter 4 explains more about the scene of the past Winter encounters right before meeting Hyorinmaru. The dragon's appearance itself here is not explained in details, but I use its later form that more resembles western dragon. It doesn't affect the story whatsoever. Toushiro is still back by the end. However, now that basically the first arc is over, I'm seriously considering taking a break, so, goodbye for now!