The moon shone in the sky on this calm night, basking the land in its modest glow. It seemed as large and bright as it had ever appeared to those observing it tonight, but as it was nearing three in the morning, that number was miniscule. There was probably only one person out in the slight chill of the evening, one who was preoccupied with her own thoughts and reasons for being out to take notice of the details of the night sky. She stood outside the walls of the great city, determining which way would be best to go. Using no particular logic in her determination, the woman headed away from the walled city towards the somewhat wooded area on the outskirts. It took some time, but she managed to find the perfect area for her needs, a clearing on the top of a small cliff face, a drop of about fifty or so feet. It was far enough away from the Seireitei that she could only just sense the reiatsu of the common citizens who lived at the inner edge of the city. Her Shinigami robes billowed a bit in the slight breeze brought about by this chilly night, the sound of her sword being unsheathed being the only other sound.

It was a standard looking katana with a reddish hilt, but that would not last for long. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia shouted, her voice carrying through the clearing as white reiryoku engulfed her form. The wave of cold wind that spread through the area was not caused by the ambient wind, but the release of energy from releasing her sword. She held her zanpakuto out with the blade parallel to her body, spinning the sword counter-clockwise. The change was nearly immediate; what was once a simple katana was now entirely white, blade, hand-guard, hilt, et al. A long white ribbon extended from the base of her hilt, completing what some had referred to as one of the most beautiful shikai in the Seireitei. Rukia herself did take a good amount of pride in the appearance of her sword, but her mind was currently more set on the fighting prowess and spiritual power of both her and her zanpakuto.

That was why she was here in the dead of night, she desired to train her abilities for as long as it took until she could get to the next state of her sword's release, known as bankai. She needed to grow more, to be able to protect herself and her friends better than she had before, as she could no longer rely on the resolve and strength of Ichigo, now that his powers were…no, she did not want to think about that at the moment, it would affect her concentration, which she would need in spades if she were to successfully complete this training. Unfortunately, she had little idea how to go about training, just knowing that she had to keep using her shikai and her own abilities until she reached that further bond with her sword. "First Dance – Tsukishiro!" Rukia shouted, her sword pointed down towards the ground. Just as when she first released, the blade was glowing white with energy, which immediately dissipated as she slashed the blade at no particular target. On the ground forty feet in front of her, at the bottom of the cliff, a circle with a radius of fifteen or so feet glowed serenely for just a moment or two before freezing over in a layer of pure ice. Before that even had a chance to settle, a column of light shot upwards from the frozen circle and immediately became a tall cylinder of ice that extended into the sky.

Wasting no time, Rukia quickly turned around and looked towards the trees near her. "Second Dance – Hakuren!" Rukia stabbed the ground with the tip of her sword and repeated that process thrice, more reishi particles trailing towards her sword with each stab. With a release of energy, a wave of freezing reishi swept over her and towards the trees she had aimed for, freezing everything it touched except for the Shinigami herself. The frozen path was solidly covered in clear ice, as pristine as the color of the blade that had caused the attack in the first place. It was an impressive display of her power, but it was just the start for the determined spirit. To unlock the power that was held within, she would have to show off all the power that she had, no time for breaks or rest.

True to her word, Rukia continued training as the sun came up and as it went back down again, not slowing down due to fatigue, hunger, thirst, pain or other needs. The field was covered in pillars of ice, some still intact, others shattered into chunks or cut down the middle. The rest of the area was completely covered in ice, many times over, looking more like a lake in the middle of a frozen tundra as opposed to the grassy area it had been the day before. Rukia herself had bags under her reddened eyes, her hair unkempt as if having suffered through a windstorm, beads of sweat from her overexertion streaming down her face and arms; she generally looked like she had been through hell. Her arms and legs trembled, the latter barely able to support her tired body now. Every muscle ached to rest, but no rest seemed to be in sight. As far as she was concerned, she was no closer to learning about her bankai than when she had started.

"Please, that's enough for now." A gentle voice pleaded, placing a hand on Rukia's shoulder as if she had been there the entire time. Her long hair was pale lavender in color, her skin similarly pale but white in tone, while her eyes were a blue shade that were similar to Rukia's own. Just like the Shinigami, a long bang of hair fell across the center of the woman's face, except in the opposite direction. Her clothing suited the appearance of a classic Yuki-onna just as much as the rest of her, a set of flowing white robes with sleeves far longer than the arms they held, almost like a child playing dress-up. Her spectral presence seemed to float a few inches of the ground, a cold mist slowly radiating from where she stood. "I can't…not yet…I'm still no closer to unlocking my-your power." Rukia replied, not even slowing down as she addressed the woman. "This is foolish and entirely unhealthy!" Sode no Shirayuki continued, her countenance displaying a mix of concern and anger. Rukia said nothing and merely continued her training, generating another pillar of ice in front of her as if it had become as common as breathing. It was not a sign that she was closer to a new release, just that she had grown tired of announcing the name of her attack before releasing it, even if the spirit in her sword did not appreciate that gesture. "I refuse to speak to you if you are going to act as stubborn as a child." The spirit calmly stated, fading away as she drifted her form back into the sword that the Shinigami was so desperate to master. Rukia paid her little mind, merely appreciative of the lack of what she felt had been nagging.

Elsewhere in the Soul Society, another Shinigami was looking over papers on her desk, signing them away with the due diligence her job required. "Okay Captain, I'll get these forms over to the processor before he clocks out for the night." Another Shinigami commented, shuffling the papers into the folder in her arms. "Yes, thank you, Isane. Be prompt about it, but don't stress yourself." The Captain advised, standing up and giving her Lieutenant a slight smile. Isane gave her a customary bow of recognition and hustled out of her Captain's office, glad that she was one simple task away from the end of the work day. Captain Retsu Unohana was also glad that the work day was over with, but that was not something she would ever admit to her subordinates. It was her job to lead these people as a figure to aspire to, which would never happen if she fostered an atmosphere of laziness and light-working.

It took only a glance for Retsu to verify that the office was as it should be, nothing askew even slightly. Her graceful figure left the office and headed for her quarters in this, the fourth division of the Court Guard Squads. As the Captain of the division, Unohana's days were long and days off were nearly non-existent. Especially as her division was responsible for healing and ran the hospital of the Soul Society. Just like in the world of the living, a hospital never closed, people always got sick or injured and needed help. Unohana usually arrived early in the morning and left late at night, with only her Lieutenant and assistant Isane Kotetsu clocking even close to the same amount of hours. That was why she enjoyed the nights so much, it was a time where she could just relax for a few short minutes before she had to actually go to sleep.

Her quarters were not too far away from her office, it cut down the time it took for her to travel between the two in the morning and the night. As such, it only took a few minutes for her to arrive at her destination, even at the slower pace of her graceful stride. Of course, as the head of the entire division, Retsu's quarters were less like the simple bunks of the lower seated squad members, and more similar to a hotel suite, multiple large rooms with expensive furniture and an elegant design. Most of it was just for show, of course, as she rarely had enough free time to even glance at her various furnishings, let alone use them for their intended purposes. She opened the door to her spacious bedroom and gave a content smirk at the familiar setting that represented some time away from the bustle of paperwork and leadership. "A nice soak in the tub and then some sleep. It's not much, but it'll feel a bit like heaven." Retsu spoke to no one in particular. Her primary bathroom was connected to her bedroom, a request she had granted when drafting up the blueprints for this floor. As such, she stepped inside and over to her large tub that was the centerpiece of the room and let the water begin to flow, as it would take awhile to fill to the appropriate level. With the water set to run, Unohana stepped back into her bedroom to continue getting ready for some short period of relaxation.

As she was in her own quarters, she worried not about modesty any more than a normal person who was alone in a closed room. The large braid that was draped across the front of her body was quickly undone, allowing her long black hair to flow freely. Her white Captain's haori came next, the one item she made sure to fold neatly and place on the counter. The rest of her Shinigami robes were removed gently, but not given quite the same treatment that her haori was. With her outer clothes cast aside, the usually reserved Captain stretched a bit before she continued disrobing. Her lack of outer clothing showed off a body that had been seen by only a few people in the past centuries, her trips to the hot springs being very infrequent. Despite this, her body was quite well formed, a body that most anyone of similar physical age would show off if they had it.

That was when she felt it, the trace of someone's reiatsu, very far away. It was just the smallest whiff of the spiritual pressure of the individual, but Unohana was able to tell that whoever it was was in terrible shape. As the leader of the medical division, it was her job to be able to notice health not just in person, but through the reiatsu of spirits as well. This one was so far away that only the strongest of Shinigami would be able to feel it normally, but certainly only Unohana would be able to recognize the health woes of this person. Unohana did not detect any other reiatsus near the mystery person's, so she assumed that she was merely sickly as opposed to injured, at least from a Hollow attack or other such enemy. Unohana knew she was the only one who could help this poor soul, not even Isane had the training to be able to detect the issues from this little of a trace of the pressure.

The Captain quickly donned her bathrobe and leapt out of her own window into the chilly night, towards the direction of the ailing individual. As she sped through the Soul Society, she could feel the trace of reiatsu grow gradually, able to reveal more details about why it was so haggard. Whoever it belonged to had not slept in over a day, their muscles had been active far longer than was healthy or considered exercise, and they had not had any food or water to keep them in shape while they were doing whatever it was, the actions of a foolish person who seemingly did not mind dying for whatever cause they were pursuing. It took only moments for Unohana to recognize the spiritual pressure as belonging to Rukia Kuchiki, which made Retsu all the more curious as to what was going on. As she left the Soul Society, she began to notice some pillars of what must have been ice in the distance, no doubt caused by the powers of Rukia's shikai. Had there been some type of battle here? She could not detect any other reiatsu from the potential foe, but it still seemed to make the most sense given the other evidence.

There she was, swinging her sword through the air as if aiming for an invisible target. Rukia was perched at the top of the cliffside, a field of ice extending in all directions. She looked just like her reiatsu suggested she would, overly exhausted and nearing collapse. However, Unohana did not spot a single would on the skin that was visible or tears in the Shinigami robes she was wearing, which made the possibility of a battle being the cause all the more unlikely.

Rukia was faring just as bad as she looked, her lack of sleep and energy causing her to nearly fall over multiple times, yet she continued undaunted. Her sharp mind was dulled by the haze, not even feeling as Unohana's strong spiritual presence gradually came closer and arrived at the area. She no longer noticed that she was no longer even actually using her ice attacks from her zanpakuto, just swinging aimlessly and without any form, style or rhythm. She had passed the point where even her stubbornness would have wavered and told her that this was ludicrous and dangerous, but ironically her mind was not in the right state to even listen to that, it just soldiered on.

Then the inevitable finally happened, Rukia's leg gave out on her, the muscles no longer having the energy to support even her lithe frame. While that might normally be fortuitous, allowing her to actually rest whether she wanted to or not, the gods of luck would have none of that. Rukia was so close to the cliff's edge that when her leg gave out, the Shinigami tipped enough to fall right over the edge and towards what would be a significant injury. Unohana delayed not even for the blink of an eye, speeding towards Rukia and catching her in her arms just before she reached the bottom of the drop. Rukia had reached her utmost limit by now, only seeing the blurry face of the person who caught her before her eyes closed and sleep overcame her. The only other stimulus she recognized was the feeling of relief that washed over her as she slipped off into dreamland.