A brother acknowledgment (117)

Sora took a long sip of his water, ignoring the knowing smirk forming on Rangiku's lips. She opened her mouth, no doubt ready to tease him about his oh-so-subtle fear of Yamamoto, but before she could get a word out—poof—he was gone.

He was not accepting any slander to his name.

POV Shift – Training Grounds

Sora stood opposite Rukia, rolling his shoulders as she prepared for their spar. Byakuya was also there, no doubt to be the ultimate cockblocker that he truly was.

Rukia started in her base form, her movements sharper and more fluid than before. They clashed, her strikes more confident. Her Reiatsu pool had grown significantly stronger than before.

Yet, Sora was dancing around her blade. None of her attacks landed on him.

He was just too fast for her to catch up.

Then she activated her Shikai.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

The temperature in the area dropped instantly. Sora grinned as he dodged her icy attacks, sidestepping effortlessly, though he had to admit—she was getting way stronger than before.

"Not bad, but I hope you're not expecting me to slip on some ice and lose," he teased, warping out of the way of a frozen arc of energy.

Rukia narrowed her eyes. Oh, it was on now.

She utilized all of her Shikai techniques—Some no Mai, Tsugi no Mai, San no Mai—and despite Sora's teasing, he could tell she had reached a solid high Lieutenant level. Even Byakuya seemed mildly impressed, which for him was like screaming, "Good job!"

So yes, her big bro was impressed by her show of force, so she could beat Renji... Hm, who did Sora know who couldn't beat Renji?

Orihime... well, she was a healer, so there was that. She wasn't that crazy lady in Soul Society, who still scared Sora even if he probably had gotten stronger than her by now.

Then she activated Bankai.

Sora instinctively held his breath as a wave of icy wind expanded outward, though this time, she controlled the radius. Condensing the cold had made it even deadlier.

Everything within range was frozen solid.

Sora remained unimpressed. "That's it?" he asked, smirking like a little demon.

Rukia's eyes flashed with challenge. She swung her blade.

A massive gust of ice surged forward. The entire training field behind Sora—200 meters of land—was instantly encased in shimmering ice.

Damn.

Sora barely moved in time, the frost licking at his boots as he observed the frozen wasteland behind him. He was about to throw another quip at her when—

A crack appeared on her body.

Shit.

He used his movement technique to teleport in front of her, catching her before she collapsed. With a gentle touch, he helped her revert back to normal.

"You did well," he told her, smiling softly. "You're stronger now."

He even wanted to give her a little peck.

Byakuya's gaze lingered on them, his usual stoic demeanor hiding whatever thoughts he had. His sister had become far stronger. And it was because of this Quincy.

Meanwhile, off to the side, Renji looked like he had just bitten into the sourest lemon in existence. Salty. Just a little.

Sora, pleased with the progress, leaned in to kiss Rukia—

A throat cleared.

Right. Byakuya.

He wasn't such a bother now, but still... huge cockblock.

They both jumped apart, trying (and failing) to act natural.

Totally. Not. Guilty.

Even Renji could see it. Rukia was absolutely smitten.

The way her eyes gazed at Sora—only an idiot would not see the love behind those eyes.

Sora stood his ground as Byakuya walked toward him, the man's presence alone enough to make even fearless warriors hesitate. And despite everything—despite knowing he was strong, despite knowing he had faced worse—Sora felt dread.

Because at the end of the day, this was still Rukia's older brother. This man controlled whether Sora could continue to get some or had to go through hoops to get some.

Notice how he did not say anything related to never getting some? Well, that was simple... Sora would always get some, no matter what.

Byakuya stopped right in front of him, his gaze sharp, his posture poised like a true noble. He examined Sora with the precision of a man determining the worth of a priceless artifact.

Then, he exhaled. As if he was about to say something he was going to regret.

"I shall acknowledge your relationship with Rukia," he stated, voice as refined as ever.

Sora's eyes lit up like a damn Christmas tree.

He did it. He won. He—

"But."

Sora's excitement vanished instantly.

"If you break her heart or prove to be unworthy, know that I shall ensure you face the appropriate consequences."

Sora swallowed. Yeah. That sounded exactly like something Byakuya would say.

"I understand," Sora said, nodding rapidly.

"It is now your duty to protect her," Byakuya continued. "Should I find you lacking, I will take Rukia away from you."

"I won't let that happen," Sora said. As if he would let even a single one of her hairs be cut. He would work as her protector. "I'll protect her with my life."

Byakuya's gaze bore into him, assessing.

Then, without a word, he gripped Senbonzakura.

Before Sora could react, the blade flashed.

Sora didn't move. He didn't flinch. He didn't activate Blut Vene or even try to dodge.

The cold steel stopped just inches from his throat.

A single drop of blood rolled down his neck where the blade had nearly ended his life.

For a long moment, Byakuya said nothing, simply watching him.

Then, satisfied, he sheathed his sword and turned away.

Well, thank god Sora had Blut ready... You see, under that layer of skin, Blut was active. Matter of fact, if Byakuya's blade had gone a millimeter deeper, he would have struck Sora's Blut.

Later That Day...

Byakuya made arrangements to move into another apartment.

Which meant—

He was no longer cockblocking.

Sora?

He was grinning like a lunatic.

"HEHEHEHEHEHE—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The stuff he had planned... This would be glorious.

A/N.