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

十六

Asa continued to fall until she noticed that she was safe to land. She flipped herself in mid-air and landed safely on a rock in the middle of a dark forest. "Where am I?" she questioned herself. Looking around, she realised that she was in the middle of nowhere all by herself. "Looks like I've got separated with the others."

Suddenly, eyes glowed in the dark and stared at her. She immediately unsheathed her Zanpakutou and slashed a Hollow that was about to ambush her from behind. She killed the Hollows but more started to surround her. 'Where are all these Hollows coming from?' she questioned internally. 'No matter how many I kill, more and more keep showing up. I have to hurry and get out of here!'

Asa looked ahead and saw some lights from far. 'Maybe I can get there without having to waste some energy on killing these Hollows.' She flipped her Zanpakutou in her hand, letting the blade point backwards, and dashed towards the light using Flash Step while slashing down the Hollows in her way, trying to get out of the dark forest as fast as she could. A Hollow jumped right in front of her but she slashed its mask, causing it to bleed before it cried in agony and disintegrated as she continued to make her way.

But when she got out, a pair of Gillian that had been standing noticed her and turned around. They opened their mouths and began gathered as much concentrated energy as possible. 'Cero?!' thought Asa, alarmed. She tried to move away but had accidentally slipped on a rock and fell on her back. She knew it was already too late to evacuate, and could only close her eyes as she waited for the impact.

Suddenly, she noticed a figure jumping in front of her and retrieved her before the Cero blasts could hit her. The man unsheathed his Zanpakutou and killed the the Gillians, leaving the area soon afterwards. As he jumped from tree to tree, Asa couldn't help but stare at him. He wore a ragged Shihakushou with a fur coat, which consisted of several Hollows masks adorned on it, draped over himself, and didn't have any footwear. He wore a Hollow's mask that resembled a gazelle's skull over his face. But Asa was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable when he carried her by the waist.

"Um..." she started politely. "Thank you for saving me, but can you put me down now?" She received no response from the mysterious man, so she tried again. "Will you please put me down?"

Instead, he stopped on a tree branch. "Be patient." he said. "We'll reach my hideout soon."

"O-Okay." she said, staring at his mask. 'This man...' she trailed off. 'I don't know why, but his reiatsu is quite familiar...'

"We're going." he warned.

Without giving her a chance to respond, he continued to jump from branch to branch. After some time, he stopped on a branch that was across a cave. Once they arrived at the entrance, the man let the Shinigami go, and she followed him inside his cave. Looking around, Asa noticed a ball of light on the ceiling.

"Is that light made with Kidou?" she asked, looking at the man as he sat down. He only placed his Zanpakutou down and stared into space. "So you're a Shinigami. What's your affiliation? Which division are you from?"

"This is the Menos Forest." he said, ignoring the questions thrown at him. "It's the Menos' nesting grounds. A world far removed from where Soul Society's laws carry any meaning." Without another word, he grabbed his Zanpakutou. Asa quickly unsheathed her Zanpakutou and blocked the blade.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded. The man removed his Zanpakutou and tried to slash her. Asa quickly dodged the blade, landing on the wall and clashed her blade with his. She jumped away and landed behind him. 'He's strong, I'd give him that.' she thought. 'He uses such wild movements. And he's powerful.' The man glanced behind at her before disappearing and reappearing next to her with the blade ready. She jumped away and landed across him. She got up and held her Zanpakutou. "Did you bring me all the way here just to kill me?"