Sunset in Heaven

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.