Noble Love - Bleach (Kuchiki Byakuya x Oc x A bit of Various)

四十三

"Yoruichi-san, where were you and the Captains this whole time?" questioned Asa.

"Well, Kukaku saved us from quite a close call." answered the said woman. "Just in case, I took measures beforehand. We healed our injuries at Kukaku's place and waited for the opportunity to strike back."

A smile flickered across Asa's face. 'I see.' she thought when she realised something. 'Tamako-kun recorded the last bit of what happened from outside because he didn't want to get caught in the fight, which gave us the impression the Reigai were the ones who caused that explosion. I can't blame him for being cautious, though.'

Just then, Zaraki charged ahead and struck first, only to have Reigai-Hitsugaya move away and leave Reigai-Zaraki to fight his real doppelganger. "You're in the way!" said the latter to Ichigo, without shifting his focus from his opponent. "Stay back!"

"What did you just say?!" questioned Ichigo.

"He's right." agreed Yoruichi. "We'll handle things here. Get going!"

"Yoruichi-san!" he called when the said woman advanced in the battle.

Urahara took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go!" he said. Ichigo looked at him for a while before giving in. With Kon gripping his Shihakushou, he then followed Urahara in search of Inaba's laboratory where Nozomi might be located. Before Asa went to join them, she glanced at Byakuya over her shoulder. He needn't ask her what she was thinking, for the concern was clear in her brown orbs. He gave her a nod, and she returned one before joining the others. Kon leapt down and began running behind the two, with Ichigo sluggishly following behind.

"Hey!" called Kon while looking at him over his shoulder. "You okay, Ichigo?"

"I'm fine." he assured, though he had cold sweat all over his face. "Never mind me. Let's find Kageroza's lab quickly."

Suddenly, the others heard him collapse and stopped in their tracks to look at him. "Ichigo!" called Kon worriedly as he rushed over to try waking him up. "Hey, Ichigo!"

"Wait, Kon-san!" called Asa, holding her hand out to stop him, which he relented. Crouching next to them, she stared at the unconscious boy intensely while inspecting his Reiatsu. His powers were unstable, like Urahara said, and she could tell that he was starting to lose control over his Hollow Powers just by smelling that familiar foul Reiatsu. She wasn't concerned so much about the Hollow Powers, but it was growing stronger, and she knew that if this were to keep up, Ichigo would become a Hollow right there and then, which would only put her, Urahara and Kon in danger. Asa placed her hand above Ichigo's back and an orange glow illuminated on her palm.

"What is she doing?" asked Kon.

"She's creating a seal on Kurosaki-san to suppress his Hollow Powers." explained Urahara, who had an unreadable expression.

Kon felt uneasy by this. "You mean..." he trailed off, not daring to continue.

"Don't worry." assured Asa, who was done placing the seal on the unconscious boy. "Nothing serious is happening to Ichigo, although he's close to becoming a Hollow. The seal will temporarily suppress his Hollow Powers, but it'll take some time for him to gain consciousness. We still need to find a place where we can hide and wait for him to wake up." Urahara placed Ichigo's arm around his shoulder while wrapping an arm around his waist to carry him. Asa then turned towards the direction she wanted to go to, "I know a place that's safe enough. Follow me!"

Kon hopped onto Ichigo's shoulder and gripped his Shihakushou, just in time for Urahara to follow Asa to a row of warehouses. The woman peeped into one of them, making sure that no one was inside, and opened the wooden doors to let themselves in. She shut the doors behind and locked them while Urahara placed Ichigo on the floor, with Kon sitting next to him and waiting for the boy to wake up. Urahara and Asa, on the other hand, sat on two rows of boxes stacked on top of each other, with their focuses on the unconscious boy.