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

六十四

As soon as Tadashi pushed the door open, eyes were immediately on the two, along with gasps coming from a few of them. Urahara was the first to break the silence. "Well, well." he said with a small smile, tilting his hat down to shadow his eyes. "We were just about to continue without the you two."

"Didn't I tell you that I would not start until I found Asa-nee?" remarked Tadashi flatly.

"A-Asa-dono!" greeted Rukia with surprise, but she was mainly relieved that the said woman wasn't hurt by the enemies despite being away for so long. "You're here!"

"Are you alright?" asked Renji, who was both surprised and relieved as well. "Did they try to hold you back?"

"I'm fine." she assured with a nod. "I guess you could say that I took up too much time to deal with them."

Yumichika released a sigh. "I don't know how she does it, but I'm jealous that Asa-sama always leaves a fight without a single scratch on her beautiful face." he sulked.

Asa took note of the building they were in. It was actually a research laboratory belonging to none other than Kurotsuchi himself. They were standing on a platform filled with liquid reaching past their ankles, and each of them had a big bead in their hands. But that wasn't all. She looked over and noticed Ukitake on his knees, with the top on his Shihakusho undone, and black miasma was oozing from his face to the sky, where the Soul King Palace would be.

"What's happening to Ukitake-taichou?" she questioned worriedly.

"The Soul King is dead." explained Tadashi seriously, prompting her to look at him. "Ukitake-taichou has activated what he called as Kamikake to become the Right Hand of the Soul King in exchange for his life. I think he managed to reach the Soul King, since the shaking has stopped." Now that he mentioned it, Asa did notice that the ground had stopped shaking when she left the Central 46 Compound. She thought that the tremble was temporary, but if it weren't for Ukitake's sacrifice, things would've continued and got worse.

"How long will this last?" questioned Soi Fon, looking at Urahara. "I didn't think Ukitake would completely become the Soul King's substitute. But this stability will only last as long as Ukitake's still alive. So how long will this last?"

As a Shinigami who had been under the said Captain for so long, Sentarou would not accept such statement. "Captain!" he scolded. But deep down, he knew she was right.

"It's a fact!" she responded before turning back to the man in clogs. "Am I wrong, Urahara?"

"I don't know." was his reply. "This is the first I've heard of this whole Kamikake thing, so I can't really tell how long it'll last. But one thing's for sure, we have to look for another way to stabilise Soul Society while Ukitake-san's standing in for the Soul King, as soon as possible. Let's hurry. We'll make the doors and head to the Soul King's Palace!"

"Yes!" responded everyone else.

Unfortunately, just before they could complete the outline of the door, it started to disperse, catching everyone off guard. "What's happening?!" demanded Ikkaku.

"The door is disappearing immediately after we make it." said Yumichika with disbelief, answering his question.

"There isn't enough Reiatsu!" noted Nanao.

"What?!" responded Hisagi with shock.

"Ukitake-taichou always used his Reiatsu to continuously support his body." she explained. "And that makes his Reiatsu way stronger than the rest of the group. But now that he's out of commission, there isn't enough Reaitsu for the door! At this rate-" She was abruptly interrupted when someone placed a hand on the bead she was holding.