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

五十一

En route to Hueco Mundo, Asa was running behind Tadashi, who was using his Reishi to create a trail for them. While follow him, she stared at his back so long that he felt her gaze and glanced back at her. "What's wrong, Asa-nee?" he asked. The said woman didn't say anything, and pulled out a black cloak from her Shihakusho instead. Upon hearing her call his name, he glanced back at her, allowing her to pass the cloak to him as he stared at it with confusion. "What is this?"

"A Reiatsu-concealing cloak." she explained while putting on the cloak. "I don't want to risk ourselves getting caught."

Tadashi let out a chuckle. "You've always been the cautious one, anyway." he commented before putting on the cloak as well. He continued running for a moment until he announced, "We're here." The Garganta opened, and out came the two Shinigami, who quickly hid behind a rubble and peeped, looking out for enemies. But they were surprised to see that the entire desert was empty, making them possibly the only Souls to be around.

"Why is it so empty?" questioned the baffled Asa. "I can't even pick up a trace of a Hollow's Reiatsu."

"That Eiichi..." muttered Tadashi, who had blue lines beneath his left eye. "I knew he would create an opening far somewhere deserted."

"Maybe he's concerned about our safety." said his partner with a sheepish smile before getting up, though she hid behind the rubble in case the enemies spot them. "Let's make a move. We might be able to find some clues along the way."

"Yeah." he responded.

They left their temporary hiding spot and moved through the desert, running as fast as they could. They didn't want to waste time, since there was an emergency the 12th Division was handling with their Captain back in Soul Society. As they ran, they kept their guards up, reminding themselves that they were in their enemies' territory and anything could happen to them if they weren't careful. Whether minutes or hours had passed, they wouldn't know. But they knew they'd been running for sometime when they were starting to feel tired and hungry. They had to stop at a cave where they each took a pill to fill up their stomachs and rest up as much as they could. Once they woke up from their naps, they proceeded to run through the desert, hoping that they would arrive at their destination as soon as possible.

Finally, after spending another day repeating the same routine, Las Noches came into their view from far; however, they noticed that something was different about the place. There wasn't any dramatic changes in the building, but when they paid close attention, they realised that there was another Reiatsu belonging to a group of people besides Arrancars, whose were overpowered by theirs. They weren't able to tell why this was happening, nor could they pinpoint whose the Reaitsu dominating Las Noches belong to. But when Asa looked to her right, she knew that something terribly wrong.

Before Tadashi could take a step forward, she grabbed his arm and quickly hid themselves behind a rubble. "What's that for?" questioned the former in a hushed tone.

Asa didn't respond, but the look on her face told him that they'd found the answer worse than what they expected. While her gaze was focused on something, she whispered, "Looks like we know what's actually happening."

Tadashi was confused at her statement so he decided to follow her gaze, wanting to know what made her feel so uneasy. There were numerous people, or rather, soldiers guarding the place. What alarmed the Shinigami was their attire. Each of them wore a long, white, double-breasted trench coat with shoulder straps and a white, button-down bib. Furthermore, the coat was bound at the waist with a black belt, which was adorned with a decorative buckle, and was worn over both white trousers and trench boots. They also wore white hats with black peaks and a crest emblazoned on its front, as well as the buttons of their other apparel.