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

六十八

Byakuya and the now unzombified Hitsugaya were having a tough battle with Gerard Valkyrie. Before they could continue, the Quincy was engulfed by a beam of light. Yhwach had activated Auswählen once more, and this time, his remaining Wandenreich were not spared. Gerard's flesh was immediately stripped away, and all that was left of him were bones crashing into the ground below. Byakuya looked up to see that power was drawn from all over the area to the top of Wahrwelt, where Yhwach opened a portal and left Ichigo with his defeat.

"I guess that's it for us." said Hitsugaya, who had aged himself to an adult body upon the completed version of Daiguren Hyorinmaru. He was tall and lanky, and had ice covering his shoulders, forearms, and knees. "Now we just have to leave the rest to Kurosaki and the rest."

Byakuya picked a familiar Reiatsu from far. He looked around to pinpoint the source, and his gaze landed on the giant barrier erected in one of the five floating cities. 'Tadashi.' was the name that he could think of, for he recognised the Reiatsu all too well.

Hitsugaya deactivated his Bankai and stood next to Byakuya, looking towards the same direction where he, too, saw the barrier. "Is that Sasaki's Reiatsu?" he guessed questioningly, earning a nod from the latter. "Are Asa-san and him not done yet?"

"I can't tell." replied Byakuya. Although it wasn't clear on his face, he was very worried about the two. It's not that he underestimated their abilities or something of the sort. They were at war with the Quincys, particularly with the Sternritter, the ones who brought Seireitei down with their prowess. They'd lost too many Shinigami, even the late Captain-Commander. So when Asa and Tadashi volunteered to separate from the group to go after the enemy, it would be understandable how worried he was even though his lover gave him a look of assurance. And now seeing that they were not done, that worry was getting to him. "We should probably check on them."

"Yeah." agreed Hitsugaya. Without wasting any time, the two of them used Flash Step to move towards the floating city as fast as they could.

Back inside the barrier, Tadashi watched the Quincy took his last breath with furrowed brows and a drip of cold sweat on his temple. 'Killing off a Quincy using normal methods isn't easy.' he thought, eying on Asa's now bloodied hands after she'd removed it from the dead man. 'It's already impressive enough that Asa-nee was able to deflect all of his attacks using her Reiatsu. But to actually kill him by absorbing his Reiryoku is a whole different story. This Bankai of hers; it's just as dangerous as her old one. If not, even more dangerous. When she told me that I can remove the barrier when I think it's the right time, my question is - when is that?' The Shinigami watched Erzengel's body fell to the ground below before his gaze landed on Asa, who still had her Bankai activated. Levitating high up in the sir, she stood still and merely had a blank stare. What was going on here? The enemy had been defeated, so why hadn't she revert to her normal self? 'Asa-nee...'

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya and Byakuya finally arrived at their destination, as they came face to face with a Kidou barrier, much to their surprise. The former took a few steps forward and touched the barrier. "This is Shiju no Saimon." he noted, recognising the Kidou barrier. "Why would Sasaki cast it during a battle?"

"Something must have happened." guessed Byakuya. He tried looking through the barrier to see any signs of the two Shinigami he'd been worrying about since their departure from the rest of the group. Luckily, he was able to find Tadashi standing few feet away from him.

"I see Sasaki." said Hitsugaya, also spotting the said man who had his back facing him. "But how are we going to get his attention?"

As if he could hear him, Tadashi turned around and saw the two Captains, saying out their names with surprise. Glancing at Asa over his shoulder, he removed the barrier and rushed to them. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.