Sode no Shirayuki (Zanpakutō spirit)

This article is about the manifested spirit of Rukia Kuchiki's Zanpakutō. For her Zanpakutō and its abilities, see Sode no Shirayuki

is the manifested spirit of Rukia Kuchiki's Zanpakutō who appears during the anime-exclusive Zanpakutō Rebellion and the subsequent Tōjū Campaign.

Appearance
Living up to its name as the most beautiful Zanpakutō in Soul Society, Sode no Shirayuki manifests herself as a beautiful Yuki-onna dressed in white and light blue clothes. She has long, pale lavender hair tied into a partial bun in the back that is clipped at the left side of her head at the front, while on the right it hangs loose and is cut somewhat shorter with strands hanging between her eyes, pale skin and dark blue eyes. She wears a Furisode kimono with a large pale purple bow in the back attached to a pale yellow obi: The top part of her clothing has long sleeves that reach the ground, and the bottom part is also long and covers her feet.

Personality
Her manner of speaking is soft and peaceful, but personality-wise, she is cold and somewhat apathetic, unlike Rukia, who is sometimes stern, but kind. She left Rukia because she felt unappreciated and not respected by Rukia. After being released from Muramasa's control, she has displayed a rather kind, friendlier disposition, along with a noticeably more polite demeanor.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

She first appears when the Zanpakutō spirits are in a cave waiting for Muramasa's return. She tells Haineko that they have to wait for the rest of their companions to awaken when the latter wishes to go outside. She is then seen along with Hōzukimaru and Tobiume attacking some Shinigami in Soul Society. She tells Hōzukimaru that they are being summoned and releases a blast of ice of from her hands incapacitating the Shinigami they were fighting. She is later seen along with the rest of the Zanpakutō spirits when they appear before the Shinigami that have gathered at Sōkyoku Hill.

She is next seen fighting Renji and Rukia, injuring Rukia considerably. Rukia arrives in the real world, injured, and Ichigo Kurosaki saves her. Sode no Shirayuki then attacks him, failing to injure him, and then leaves. Not long after, Rukia visits the 6th Division barracks to find Sode no Shirayuki attacking more Shinigami. Rukia battles her but is defeated. Ichigo arrives and unleashes his Bankai but he too is defeated as a result of holding back. Rukia then uses Rikujōkōrō to restrain her along with herself, then uses Sōren Sōkatsui in an attempt to kill both herself and Sode no Shirayuki, to show that she cannot live without her and that she is willing to let her go free at the cost of her own life. Rukia is injured but Sode no Shirayuki has a change of heart and tries to reach out for Rukia. However, Muramasa appears and prevents her.

She is subsequently seen again in the cave where the Zanpakutō are staying as Byakuya Kuchiki joins them. Not believing that Byakuya really is willing to betray the Shinigami, Senbonzakura challenges Byakuya to kill Sode no Shirayuki. Much to the surprise of the surrounding Zanpakutō, Byakuya proceeds to attack Sode no Shirayuki, overwhelming her with a combination of Kidō and Hohō. Her broken sword form is then returned to Rukia by Senbonzakura. Rukia is distressed upon realizing that she can no longer feel Sode no Shirayuki's reiatsu from the broken sword.

Sometime later in the living world, Muramasa's power becomes unstable resulting him in becoming a Hollow through merging with many Hollows. As one Gillian-class Menos attempts to attack Rukia and Orihime Inoue, Sode no Shirayuki appears and destroys the Gillian. As a dumbfounded Rukia tries to make sense of this, Sode no Shirayuki points out that the Shinigami and other Zanpakutō spirits have also arrived to help. Sode no Shirayuki explains that Captain Kurotsuchi was able to reverse the effects of Muramasa's brainwashing powers. She then helps to stop the assault of the Gillians, freezing and destroying several of them. But the numbers of the Menos continued to grow due to Muramasa's huge Garganta. When Byakuya and Senbonzakura come up with the solution of using their energy to close the Garganta, Sode no Shirayuki joins her allies in using their energy to completely close it. While cleaning up the remaining Gillians, Muramasa's dome collapses. Sode no Shirayuki detects Ichigo's energy. Ichigo then emerges with a defeated Muramasa. With the mission completed, Sode no Shirayuki returns to Rukia's sword.

Beast Swords arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

It is revealed that Sode no Shirayuki and the other Zanpakutō spirits can still freely manifest themselves whenever they please. This becomes fortunate for Rukia when she is attacked by two strange beings. Sode no Shirayuki, with Senbonzakura's help strikes down one of the creatures and the other escapes. Later, Captain Kurotsuchi reveals that several rogue Zanpakutō spirits have transformed into what he deems "Tōjū" as an unusual result of killing their Shinigami partners. Realizing that more damage would come if these transformed spirits are left rampant, Sode no Shirayuki works with Rukia and Senbonzakura to find another Tōjū for Kurotsuchi to analyze. Sode no Shirayuki comes up with the idea of smoking out one by throwing another party, but to no avail. Ashamed that she failed, Sode no Shirayuki reveals to Rukia how useless she has feels since being freed from Muramasa's control. Rukia insists that Sode no Shirayuki has always been of dear help to her. Before they can continue their talk, they find another Tōjū. While initially they are overpowered, Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki join power to subdue the Tōjū. Later, Sode no Shirayuki takes advantage of their free time to talk with Rukia. During which, she explains how it felt to be consumed by her own anger, feeling guilty for letting herself be ensnared in Muramasa's trap.

Later, as the Tōjū begin to die out, Sode no Shirayuki joins the other Zanpakutō spirits in trying to kill Kirikaze, the last known Tōjū remaining, in order to protect the Shinigami. However, they are unable to gain the upper hand against Kirikaze. The Shinigami eventually arrive during the battle, revealing that they know that the Zanpakutō spirits are at their limits and assist the Zanpakutō in fighting Kirikaze. As they continue to fight Kirikaze, Sode no Shirayuki begins to realize that she's running out of Reiatsu. However, Rukia tells her that she is not alone and that they would be together forever. Sode no Shirayuki, along with the rest of the Zanpakutō spirits, returns to the blade of her master and helps her assist the Shinigami in defeating Kirikaze.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Despite her gentle demeanor, Sode no Shirayuki has shown great swordsmanship skill, great enough to easily push back her former partner Rukia Kuchiki, and fight on par with a master swordsman of Byakuya Kuchiki's caliber. Fitting with her graceful appearance, her fighting style is swift and fluid with no wasted motion.

Enhanced Speed: Sode no Shirayuki has shown impressive speed, enough to surprise a Shunpo Expert like Ichigo. When facing Byakuya Kuchiki, she proved to be highly evasive against the captain's precise attacks, ultimately forcing Byakuya to restrain her in order to land a blow.

High Spiritual Power: With a simple release of her reiatsu, So no Shirayuki is able to reduce the temperature around her, causing thick fog and freezing all plant-life near her. Her reiatsu is shown great enough to easily withstand a mid-level unharmed. It was also great enough to counter Ichigo while his Bankai was released (though he was holding back).

Ice Form: Sode no Shirayuki has the ability to turn into ice and reform herself.

Ice Generation: Sode no Shirayuki is able to generate ice and cold with a simple gesture of her hand. It is powerful enough to force Ichigo to counter it with "Getsuga Tenshō". She also has the ability to generate ice and cold by blasting it from her mouth. She can also effortlessly freeze mid-level Kidō upon contact.

Zanpakutō
Sode no Shirayuki at any time can manifest a sword in of form of her Shikai release state. It is standard-sized blade that is pure white with a hollow snowflake-like tsuba and a long white ribbon that forms from the pommel from the end of the hilt. With this sword she uses the same abilities that Rukia is commonly seen using when but with greater control.


 * Some no mai, Tsukishiro (初の舞・月白, First Dance, White Moon): By calling out the name of this dance and slashing the air (unlike Rukia, who must perform a brief dance-like movement before holding sword upside down), a large circle of light will form around a target. When this happens, the circle will freezes everything that touches it. The circle not only freezes the ground but everything within the circle's influence including anything above it, up in the air, creating an extending pillar of light that then freezes all within the circle. Shortly after being frozen, the victim then shatters along with the ice. Unlike with Rukia's performance, Sode no Shirayuki's range does not extend the length of her blade, as it can target from a considerable distance. She is also able to perform this in quick succession and off a wall, launching the beam horizontally.


 * Tsugi no mai, Hakuren (次の舞・白漣, Next Dance, White Ripple): Sode no Shirayuki calls out the name of the dance, and four bursts of ice build in front of her forming an arc (unlike Rukia, who must puncture the ground herself). From her sword held out, a massive, powerful pure-white wave of ice from her katana is fired at the target, in turn encasing the target in a block of ice and shattering it.

Appearances in Other Media
She appears in the second session of the Bleach Breathless Collection with Rukia Kuchiki. Their two songs on the album are "Moon" and "Whiteout".

Quotes

 * (To Rukia) "We Zanpakutō are nothing but weapons used for fighting. I think there's something in our hearts that we're lacking. I was proud of my powers. So I thought it would be nice to move about as I please and Muramasa took advantage of that weakness in my heart. Back then, I truly believed that I could do anything on my own. But this incident has made me realize otherwise. There's nothing a weapon such as myself can do... Without you there to serve as my heart, I am merely a weapon of destruction.

Navigation
Sode no Shirayuki (espíritu)