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

二十八

Asa's eyes suddenly opened, and she shot up from her futon panting heavily, with cold sweat damping her forehead. Once she had stabilised her breathing, she looked around to find herself in one of Urahara's guest rooms. The bright sun shone through the window and illuminated the whole room. It was already know when she woke up. 'A dream, huh?' she questioned as she replayed the nightmare in her head.

It felt so vividly real, like she was there even though she was sleeping in the Urahara Shop. She remembered saving Rukia from a Zanpakutou spirit from killing her, but it cost her life, leaving the poor Shinigami to hold her bloodied body in her arms and cry. Though it was only a dream, she felt horrible for traumatising Rukia, who had witnessed her death. But at that moment, something struck Asa. She quickly reached to her back and glided her hand over it as much as possible, as if to confirm that she was only dreaming and that it didn't happen.

"You're up early." commented Tadashi sarcastically when she stepped into the living room after doing her daily "morning" routine. He was reading a newspaper article and a cup of hot green tea was placed before him on the chabudai.

"Good morning to you too, Tadashi." she responded while sitting on the zabuton. "Any news from Tamako-kun?"

"Not yet." he replied while flipping a page. "He hasn't returned."

Just then, the Ghost Child manifested next to the table, causing her to look at him and smile. "Welcome back, Tamako-kun." she greeted warmly.

"Thanks, Asa-nee." he said quietly, which somehow made her and Tadashi look at him with confusion. He wasn't as cheerful as the time before he left, and the frown on his face seemed to be telling them that something happened while he was away.

"What's wrong, kid?" asked Tadashi carefully after putting away the newspaper.

"Asa-nee's grandfather is okay." he broke the news.

Relief spread across Asa's face before she heaved a sigh. "Thank goodness." she said, happy to know that he was alive.

"However," continued the boy, which quickly caught hers and Tadashi's attention. "There's a problem. Yoruichi found where he was and brought three Captains and Ichigo with her to save him. Ichigo went to find your grandfather while the others were fighting with their Zanpakutou spirits. Their main goal wasn't to kill them, but to prevent them from getting to Ichigo."

"What do you mean?" she asked, who was starting feel worried about how the situation unfolded.

"Muramasa was trying to get him to use Getsuga Tenshou while in his Hollow form." he explained. "That way, he could fuse his power together with that to create a huge explosion to break the barrier around your grandfather. Everyone thought Muramasa created that barrier, but they were mistaken."

"That means Ojii-sama created that barrier?" clarified the Shinigami.

Tamako nodded before continuing, "Muramasa wanted to learn all about the memories that was deep inside his mind, so he started by going into his inner world. But Asa-nee's grandfather set up a barrier that separated him from the outside world. He prevented Muramasa from entering his mind by going unconscious."

The Visored soon furrowed his brow with anger when he realised what was the intention behind the mess. "So the reason Muramasa materialised the Zanpakutou spirits and threw Soul Society into turmoil, was so that he could buy time and figure out how to break Yamamoto-sama's barrier." he concluded. "He made all the Shinigami and their Zanpakutou spirits believe that he wanted to start a Zanpakutou rebellion and capture Yamamoto-sama himself. And so, he made Ichigo "rescue" Yamamoto-sama in hopes of settling the rebellion. He and his abilities are truly like tapeworms."