5-5 The White Haze

I'm glad you're here. I've been waiting. You're looking remarkably well for someone whose innards I gouged out.

I scraped your stomach clean, as I remember. Not being able to eat, you must be starving. You look like you've lost weight.

Brother, look out! Don't make eye contact with him!

It's too late!

?!

Too late for whom?

Ah, I see. You've already surrounded the area with your Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

Very nice. Oh, how I wish I could have kept that Bankai!

Bankai? Look again. As someone who's used it, you should have been able to tell this isn't my Bankai.

This is Shikai. Just a normal Senbonzakura.

What?!

In a way, you did me a favor. Thanks to you stealing my Bankai, I rediscovered the true essence of Senbonzakura.

Interdependency is like a pointillist painting. One must take a step back to see its true form. Lost in the details, I had forgotten the bigger picture.

I owe you a debt of thanks, Äs Nödt.

I will not kill you! I will not kill you! I will not kill you! I will not kill you! I will not kill you! I will never kill you!

I will keep you conscious and your mind intact as I plunge you into a sea of pain and fear!

I will make you live for eternity begging for the bliss of death!

Rukia. Even as I approached, I could sense your Spiritual Pressure from far away.

You have become strong, Rukia.

My brother... My brother just told me that I'm strong!

But fear is not born and nurtured in a vacuum. It feeds off the insecurities and anxieties lurking in one's heart. Do you still have fears, Rukia?

No!

It's time to end this, Byakuya Kuchiki!

You're right. I agree. However, I will not be the one putting an end to you.

What? I've had enough of your mockery!

Look at him, Rukia. Look closely. It is not your fear that you see reflected in him.

If there is truly no fear in your heart, then what you're seeing is his own terror.

Bankai... Hakka No Togame!

I'm scared.

Am I... Am I going to die?

I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Please don't be angry with me. I'm scared. The pain...it scares me. The agony...

I'm scared. I'm scared...

Undo it slowly, Rukia. Slowly.

That was a magnificent Bankai.

Also a very dangerous Bankai. The smallest mistake could cost you your life. Handle it with caution. Never be impatient with it.

Nothing is served by swinging a sword when the cost of doing so is your life.

Come, Rukia. Let's go protect the Soul Society.

Right. Coming, Brother!