Chapter 23

Byakuya used his hands as he continuously attacked the huge greenish Adjuchas which had the thickest shell his petals ever tried to grind. But even with little success, the noble was still very patient in his attacks and strategies. He never moved from his spot because Senbonzakura's bankai was enough to repel the Hollow away from him, resulting in a very even match.

"Should I help?" Ichigo offered. He knew it might hurt Byakuya's pride if he did so, but they were pressed for time and they needed to get to the end of the tunnel as soon as possible before everything was too late.

"I can handle it." Byakuya answered, obviously without any intention of asking for help.

Ichigo could only sigh as he and Nel watched the fight from the side. He could feel the other Taichous' reiatsus and he knew that those four were also in the same predicament. Although, basing on Kenpachi and Shinji's reiatsu, one would think that the two were in an amusement park and enjoying themselves to the fullest.

The Hollow started circling Byakuya in order to corner the noble but Byakuya only looked at him with apathy, already bored with the fight. He held out his hand and incanted a spell. "Hado no 31: Shakkaho." The ball of energy hit the target, but the thick shell prevented Byakuya from scratching it. His eyebrow furrowed before he used another spell. "Hado no 33: Sokatsui." And he really put a lot of power into that second attack, giving the shell a small dent. He repeatedly fired sokatsui added with the raining petals to the same spot just so the damn shell of that annoying Hollow would break.

The Hollow roared when it felt that it was already cornered. Byakuya looked at it coldly before he used his favorite spell to pierce it thoroughly. "Hado no 4: Byakurai." The Hollow disintegrated in front of them and Nel held tightly onto Ichigo when the latter saw what happened.

"Don't worry, Nel. We won't hurt you." Ichigo smiled at the small child just as he held Nel tighter as well. "Sorry for frightening you."

"Let's go, Ichigo." Byakuya called and Ichigo started walking, Nel still in his arms.

The pathway diverged in many directions after a while and they were forced to make a decision on where to go. They were greeted by both low-level and high-level Hollows, causing them to fight against the enemies separately. They would've been fine since the Hollows were not that hard to deal with. But their sheer number was enough to exhaust a normal Taichou-class Shinigami. It was good thing both Ichigo and Byakuya were above normal, but the toll on both of them was still very huge.

By the time they both found an exit, Ichigo was already panting quietly and Byakuya looked more tired than normal. Their reiatsus were still plenty but their bodies were the ones that took the exhaustion. Nel was the sole person hyperactive enough to chat with them continuously throughout the trip. Both males were thankful though since her presence removed some of the tiredness that they both felt. Not to mention each other's company removed a lot of their fatigue. Nel was already sleeping in Ichigo's arms with her head on the teen's shoulder when they decided to sit for a while and rest.

"Are you alright?" Byakuya asked in silent concern as he looked at Ichigo's exhausted form.

Ichigo smiled at the concern etched in the noble's eyes and he immediately nodded. "Of course. I'm still alive and kicking." Byakuya closed his eyes as his lips curled up into a small smile. It seemed Ichigo was slowly becoming livelier and livelier. He liked that, but that didn't mean he didn't like the cool and quiet teen. He just felt that Ichigo looked full of life now than before.

Ichigo, on the other hand, smiled to himself when he saw the small smile on the noble's lips. It was nice seeing Byakuya smile like that once in a while. He was about to say something nice just to tease Byakuya a bit but both of them stiffened when they felt a very strong reiatsu approaching rapidly.

Even Nel stirred up a bit. Both Taichou knew that there was no way that reiatsu was of a Hollow's. It didn't feel like one at all, nor was it human or Shinigami.

"Byakuya," Ichigo voiced quietly, just to warn the older male even though he knew it wasn't needed anymore.

"I know." The noble answered, immediately understanding what the warning meant. The strength and reiatsu weren't that of Hollows or Shinigami so it could only be human. But for some reason, it also didn't feel like one. It's the main enemy…

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows when he felt his knees shaking in exhaustion when he stood up. "Another one's approaching fast." He voiced when he felt that there were now two presences approaching their location. It's not a good sign for both of them since both auras felt really foreign… not to mention incredibly strong…

'Ichigo, your body is still recuperating from exhaustion. You shouldn't fight.' He heard Muramasa's words from inside his mind. 'Let the Kuchiki noble fight this one. You also shouldn't use me for a while. It takes too much toll on your body when you use two zanpakutous.'

'The idiot is right, King. You're already tired. You don't want the bastard noble to see you vomiting blood, right?' Shiro voiced as well. Ichigo was about to answer – as well as comment on the obvious insult for the raven – but then he saw that Byakuya looked tired as well. The man was still strong enough to fight a whole bunch of Adjuchas level Hollows but the orange-haired Taichou wasn't sure if the noble could fight the approaching enemy who was at least twice as strong as Aizen. And there were two of them.

The other one wasn't as strong as the first presence approaching. But it was also foreign.

They waited for some time, their breathing soft and quiet, before the air in the whole place suddenly became very suffocating. It made Nel scream in fright and made the little Arrancar run up to Ichigo, hugging the hell out of him.

"Itsygo!" She cried as Ichigo immediately carried him and brought him to a corner, trying to figure out if leaving her there would be safer.

"Shhh… It's okay, Nel." Ichigo assured her as he patted her head. "Don't worry. Byakuya and I will protect you." And he gave her a reassuring smile. "Byakuya is very strong." Nel still looked worried and frightened but she nevertheless nodded and stayed quiet after that.

"I see they've sent some powerful Shinigamis this time." A low, rumbling voice echoed in the entire room and Ichigo immediately shunpo'd over to Byakuya. The noble was looking at the newly-arrived person with much distaste. Ichigo recognized the man as Jin Kariya, one of the main enemies they need to defeat. He was much stronger than what the reports said. He was at least some ten feet away from the two Taichous. The distance was much too close for people with incredibly high reiatsus. So that's a Bounto.

Together with him was a handsome man with shoulder-length dark brunette hair. He wore the gentlest smile as he stared at both Ichigo and Byakuya but Ichigo didn't want to think of what the man might be scheming behind that kind smile. He was holding an opened book with one hand and acted as if he was trying to read it. The younger Taichou concluded that he was a so-called Fullbringer, as what the reports have described.

"No need to be too tensed." Kariya continued. "I'm merely welcoming you here in Hueco Mundo since this might be the last time you'll be able to see this place… or any place for that matter." He ended his statement with a smirk. Ichigo found himself glaring at the man for his arrogant attitude. Kariya seemed pretty confident he could kill both Ichigo and Byakuya in one go.

His glare was cut off when the other male, the one with shoulder-length hair, suddenly closed the book he was reading. "Stop glaring too much." Even his voice was much gentler than Kariya's. "I'm Shukuro Tsukishima and I'm here to accompany Kariya today. I hope you don't mind."

"Chire, Senbonzakura." Byakuya's cold voice alerted Ichigo and he also drew out his sword. He was still new to using two swords but he was always fighting with Byakuya so he knew he could get by… at least that's what he hoped. He knew he shouldn't use Muramasa too much since, like what the zanpakutou said, it consumed too much of his energy. But he also knew that not using both his zanpakutou might also become his demise.

Pink petals suddenly filled the air as Byakuya activated his shikai. The scent was too sweet that Ichigo felt calmed by them. He pointed his sword at Kariya while Byakuya focused his attention on Tsukishima. He and Ichigo didn't need to talk and plan in front of the enemy like novices. They were Taichous with high pride and dignities. They didn't need words to communicate. They only needed to focus on the person they chose to fight and possibly cover one another's back when it was really needed.

Kariya and Tsukishima didn't even look surprised to see cherry blossoms floating in the air or amazed at the sight of the huge sword Ichigo held with one hand. They only looked… thrilled. And that fact didn't sit well with both Taichous.

And thus, the battle between Ichigo and Kariya as well as the fight between Byakuya and Tsukishima started.

"Messer." Kariya voiced as he floated some feet in the air. "Shinigami, I want you to meet my Doll Messer. He's quite shy so he's hiding himself right now, but you'll feel how much strength he has."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows before he disappeared from his spot and appeared right behind the silver-haired male. He attempted a direct attack just to test Kariya's speed and agility. And really, he was stunned. Kariya was way faster than Aizen… since the second he concentrated on attacking, he left his back wide open for attack. And Kariya immediately exploited that. He was glad that he was also faster than he was back then from continuous training. He was able to dodge the wind-like blade that would have ripped him apart otherwise.

The silver-haired man chuckled, as if deeming the whole situation laughable. "You're quite good. No wonder you're a Taichou." Kariya complimented, though Ichigo was sure the man wasn't saying that because of amazement. "But… you're weak. I can smell it… your weakness." And he smirked. "Not only are you weak. You're also still too young and inexperienced."

Ichigo immediately glared at him. "Shut up." He pointed his sword forward in one fell swoop and voiced, "Bankai." Kariya made a sound of compliment at the sight of immense reiatsu flowing out from the teen. "Getsuga Tenshou!!!"

At that same time, Byakuya was having trouble fighting because the man in front of him becomes more and more familiar with each passing minute. One second Tsukishima seemed to be his long-lost friend from his youth, and the next the man was his senpai in the Shinigami Academy. He was having a hard time fighting because of that. His Bankai was also activated now but it was still alarming how Tsukishima kept on grinning as if he was sure he'd win the battle.

"Master, no matter who that man is, never forget that we're here to protect Kurosaki-san. If this man is Kurosaki-san's enemy, then we have to defeat him… regardless of who he is." The noble heard in his mind. He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to forget the man's existence for a while.

"I know that." He voiced as he let out a full-blast attack. Tsukishima smiled again before he made a slicing motion, hitting Byakuya's arm a little.

Tsukishima's gentle smile widened a little just as he took a glimpse in Ichigo's direction. "So… That young man over there…" His eyes darkened a little with mirth before he looked at Byakuya straight in the eyes. "He's the person most important to you right now."

Byakuya couldn't help but feel sudden dread at that statement. And suddenly, his eyes widened as he froze on the spot. He would've laughed at himself if he wasn't very much shocked and rattled. The man in front of him, the man who called himself Tsukishima, was the same man he'd been in love with for the past fifty years now. Tsukishima was the person he loved more than Hisana, more than Ichigo, more than anyone.

"Master, no!!" But it was already too late. The sound of his sword echoed all throughout the room as the hand that was holding it shook terribly and dropped it.

Tsukishima smiled kindly at him again.

"Your friend is going to lose. No one has ever won against Tsukishima before." Kariya commented as he kept on dodging Ichigo's attacks. "Even I would never want to fight someone like him."

"You don't know Byakuya. He'll never lose to that guy!" Ichigo snarled as he fired another Getsuga Tenshou in Kariya's way.

'Ichigo, you're merely tiring yourself by attacking mindlessly. You need to focus on how to defeat him first before attacking all-out.' It was the first time Zangetsu talked from the time they were underground. And it somehow alerted Ichigo even more. Was his body that weak now?

He suddenly gasped when he was almost hit by the invisible and utterly powerful wind from Kariya's weapon. He panted a little just as he stood in a farther position.

He's worried about Byakuya because of what Kariya has said. But more than the statement, he was worried because Byakuya dropped his zanpakutou and seemed to have frozen in his position. He's terribly worried but he couldn't just go there and find out what's wrong… He wanted to know what's going on in the older man's side, but he was too occupied by Kariya's intimidating way of fighting.

'Focus, King, lest you wanted to be devoured alive.' Shiro echoed inside his mind, giving him a little bit more focus on the fight in front of him.

His eyes turned blue as he calmed himself down. The reiatsu oozing from his body turned quiet but it also became utterly deadly.

'You only have one chance, Ichigo. Using this skill will terribly eat a lot of your strength. You cannot afford to miss this chance.' Muramasa voiced, earning a slight nod of understanding from the young Taichou.

And Ichigo breathed out before his eyes sharpened as they gazed at Kariya's form. It's time for a comeback.

Kariya's eyes narrowed at his enemy's sudden change of aura just as he got ready for what was to come. But readying for something that was unfathomable was not only hard, but impossible.

"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!" Ichigo poised his right hand forward. "Hado No. 90: Kurohitsugi!!"

Kariya's eyes widened as tall black walls suddenly covered him whole in one fell swoop. And everything darkened in his sight before several energy spears swiftly struck his body.

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows from outside, knowing full well that using it against Kariya might kill the man. He hated killing. Even if Kariya was his enemy, killing the man was out of the question. He wanted to kill Aizen before not because he was a criminal but because he killed Juushirou. Killing someone just because they were considered dangerous was not very rational in his point of view.

Moreover, it was the first time he used such a high-level Kidou. Such a technique required a high-level of control and reiatsu. He was glad he managed to do it successfully.

Or maybe not.

His eyes narrowed when he felt Kariya's reiatsu fluctuated just as it disappeared. But then it suddenly returned back just as the black walls crumbled in front of him, much like what Ichigo did with Aizen's Kurohitsugi. Only, Kariya wasn't able to thoroughly block the assault. He was bleeding all over but the wounds were healing much, much faster than normal.

"That was quite brilliant, Shinigami." Kariya voiced just as he glared at Ichigo with feral eyes. "Only, you missed something extremely important." He showed his slowly regenerating flesh to Ichigo, making the teen grimace. "As long as there is enough reiatsu in the air, I will continue to regenerate…"

"Much like how a leech continues to live by sucking blood." Ichigo voiced as he returned the glare. It was true that he didn't want to kill Kariya. But that didn't mean that he was being lenient. He used a lot of power in that attack and it didn't even cripple the man. In fact, Kariya was even leering at him for his failed attempt. It frustrated him deeply.

Kariya then disappeared from his position and appeared just behind Ichigo, alerting the teen a lot. Ichigo was able to fully dodge Kariya but he still felt the dread of the whole situation. He could feel it. His whole body was getting slower, not to mention it was starting to hurt. He gritted his teeth as he tried not to think of the possible outcome if he ever overdid it. And his fight with Kariya continued.

They continued to attack and dodge each other's attacks for several minutes before Ichigo was caught in one of Kariya's whirlwind attacks.

The teen's eyes widened just as he felt the impact of the attack, as well as the pain. He was thrown some meters in the air before he landed on the ground with a loud thud. The fall caused him to cough up blood.

'No, it wasn't only because of the fall, Ichigo. You're too tired now. And the situation is getting worse by the passing second.' Muramasa suddenly voiced inside his head. 'We need to retreat for now, Ichigo. You can defeat this man in another day. But if he were to defeat you now, you will lose not only your weak body but your life as well.'

"No…" Ichigo voiced softly just as he willed himself to move and stand up again. "I can't leave… because Byakuya… is still fighting…" He coughed up more blood just as he looked in Byakuya's direction. But it didn't seem to be the right decision at all.

His eyes widened just as he felt deep scarring pain within his chest. His breath hitched as his eyes started to get hotter from unshed tears. He gulped as the pain from his heart found its way up on his expression. The hand holding Zangetsu rattled and the sword almost fell from his grip if he wasn't able to grip the handle tighter.

Tsukishima was kissing Byakuya and the noble hadn't done anything about it at all. He was just letting their enemy do what he wanted.

Kariya smirked. That was all the distraction he needed in order to take down one extremely powerful Taichou. And he delivered the finishing blow.

Byakuya gritted his teeth just as Tsukishima hugged and kissed him. There was nothing he could do. He knew there was something wrong with the whole situation. Tsukishima was his enemy but the man was also the person he loved the most. And he couldn't fight against Tsukishima because of it.

"There, there. Everything will be fine." Tsukishima voiced softly beside his ears when he finished kissing the noble.

It felt so good to hear Tsukishima's voice from so up close like this, but Byakuya knew it wasn't natural. There was something extremely unnatural about Tsukishima and his feelings for the man. It was unlike his feelings for Hisana which he felt all throughout his body. In Hisana's case, he could feel the throb of his heart even when the woman wasn't with him. But with Tsukishima, all he could think of were memories of the time he spent with the man. He couldn't remember how being with the man for a very long time now felt like. He couldn't feel the memories at all. It's as if… the memories were fake.

And his eyes widened at that. The memories were fake.

He was distracted when the strong and quiet reiatsu just several meters away from him suddenly diminished. Ichigo! He looked in the teen's direction just as he saw the teen fall down his knees, his chest oozing blood from the attack caused by Kariya's sword-like Doll.

"Itsygo!" He then saw Nel ran towards Kariya and tried to hit him with her little hands but she was merely thrown by Kariya's power some feet away, landing unconscious from the impact. He immediately tried to run in Ichigo's direction but Tsukishima didn't let him. The man immediately chased after him and was about to attack him again when he voiced, "Senbonzakura!"

Tsukishima's expression turned from annoyed to shock just as he stopped running and slowly looked at his chest. Blood was oozing from a wound he knew wasn't there before. He then looked at Byakuya with a confused expression and saw the man wiping his lips, probably to dispel the bad taste from the unwanted kiss. "How…? You were supposed to be under my power…" He then looked at the petal swords from behind him and belatedly realized what had caused his fatal wound. One of those swords had struck his heart from behind him while he was occupied chasing after the raven noble.

Byakuya looked at him coldly then. "No matter who you are, I will not risk the Kuchiki family name and sully my ally's trust. I will kill my feelings if necessary and finish my mission as the Sixth Squad Taichou of Seireitei." The noble closed his eyes. "And besides, you are not the person I love. You can make my mind forget but my heart will never be yours." And he left swiftly after that.

Tsukishima chuckled just as he fell down face-first on the floor. "Never be mine, huh… I don't want your cold ice of a heart anyway…" He coughed up more blood before he slowly closed his eyes.

Kariya was about to give the finishing blow when he suddenly dodged a bunch of petals about to turn him into smithereens. "That was close." He voiced as he gazed at Byakuya. The man's quiet rage could be felt in the air and it gave Kariya more reason to celebrate. He then looked in Tsukishima's direction and saw the lifeless man lying in the pool of his own blood, much like how Ichigo appeared now. "Hmm… So you managed to defeat him after all…"

Byakuya glared at Kariya before his gaze drifted to Ichigo's lying body on the ground behind the white-haired man. Byakuya wanted to see Ichigo's condition immediately but Kariya was in the way. Although, based on the man's posture, the noble could conclude that he was badly injured. "You mongrel…"

"None of your insults will get through me, Shinigami." Kariya said with a smirk. "You will have to use your sword if you want to save your dying friend here."

Byakuya was a man of patience and calmness. However, there was also some extent when he would lose that calm nature and become a raging storm. And now was the prime example of that.

The petals which were seemingly dancing earlier suddenly became swifter in movement, like a torrent wave about to devour everything in its way. Byakuya used both of his hands to manipulate the petals just as he read Kariya's swift movements.

The man was still faster than his raging petals but it wouldn't be long before he'd catch up to the man's speed. He was looking for something out of the ordinary so it was a little hard to focus on Kariya himself. He wanted to know why Ichigo lost. Ichigo seemed more powerful than the man. There was no way someone as powerful as the teen could lose to a mere Bounto… unless Kariya was hiding something.

"You must be thinking there should have been no way your friend would lose against me." Kariya voiced after a while, breathing heavily from running away from the petals. "You might think that there's something I'm hiding." He smirked at that. "Don't you think it's your friend who's hiding something?"

That question distracted Byakuya a lot but he didn't show it. He remained calm on the outside just as he speculated on what the man meant. "Trying to weaken my resolve won't work. I'm not an inexperienced beginner who does not know how to fight." The noble's eyes sharpened just as he uttered, "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Kariya stopped for a while and looked up at the dome-like structure starting to cover them both. It was a marvelous and at the same time frightening sight to behold. Thousands of petal swords were on display and Byakuya appeared as calm as water in a deep cold lake. The Bounto could feel that some of the wounds made by Ichigo were not able to heal thoroughly. Fighting Byakuya on top of that would be dangerous even for him. He needed to get away for now…

Byakuya noticed the man's change of aura quickly and immediately prevented that. "Not so fast." And he raised his right hand before he pointed a finger at Kariya. Everything seemed like a blur to the man just as the thousand swords rattled from their positions and swiftly attacked the Bounto mercilessly. Byakuya watched with a cold expression as hundreds and hundreds of swords attacked Kariya one second after another.

He hadn't mastered that technique yet when he fought against Ichigo before. But now that he thought about it, he was glad that he only thought of mastering it now. He wasn't able to hurt Ichigo so much then because he lacked the necessary skill to do so. That was the silver lining in his defeat against the teen.

He was not called a cold-hearted Taichou if he wasn't used to killing mercilessly. His sword was also a mirror of himself. Senbonzakura's petals appeared enticing and beautiful to the eyes but they were as deadly as a blade while they danced away mindlessly.

Kariya coughed up blood from the onslaught of attacks but he was nevertheless surviving the merciless kill. He needed to get out of the dome immediately and form another plan since the Shinigamis were much, much stronger than he thought.

Even the orange-haired Shinigami was able to deal much damage to his normally immortal body. The man was tired, weak, and mostly distracted when Kariya fought against him but his immense power was real. And if that Shinigami were at his best, Kariya would've surely lost in no time at all.

And at that, he used his remaining reiatsu in order to create a crack in the dome and escape from it. Byakuya didn't allow him to escape unscathed though. He made sure that Kariya wouldn't be able to walk far. The wounds that he gave the man were deep enough to kill. But since the noble was also tired and had lost a lot of reiatsu, he would also need to recuperate and attend to Ichigo first. Defeating Kariya would come later.

He watched coldly as Kariya escaped before he immediately shunpod towards Ichigo's direction. And what he saw immediately broke his heart.

"Ichigo…" He found himself voicing.

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.tbc.

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