Chapter Ten
Shatter…Shatter
Dragging himself out of the depths of unconsciousness was far more difficult than he'd ever imagined. His whole body was heavy. He felt a warmth though and as his eyes blinked open he realized his face was buried in a head of dark hair that was on his chest. He sighed, making the head move away from him. Someone was clutching his right hand as well. There was another comforting presence nearby.
"Ichigo?" came the familiar voice, but it was escaping his reach at the moment.
He looked up, a frown creasing his face as he blinked slowly, desperately trying to link the face with who the person was. He knew them, he knew them very well… It was just out of reach though. He bit his lip and shook his head.
"Do you remember me? What do you remember, Ichigo?" he asked again.
Again, felt his eyes blink slowly, as his mind spun out of control and he clutched the bed underneath him to stabilize himself as his whole world spun out of sync. He grimaced against the incredible feeling of vertigo washing over him. He felt hands on his hands on both sides of him.
"Give him a minute," another equally familiar voice said. "He's going to be disorientated for a while. That was no easy thing you and Shiro pulled off. Never seen anyone do that before…"
The world finally stopped swimming sickly and he opened his eyes. His head was clouded, and he couldn't think right. He looked around and felt another wave of familiarity and déjà vu hit him. His breath got faster as a sudden vision slammed into him and voices and images slammed into him and he knew them immediately to be memories. He shut them off.
"Too much at once," he whispered. "Too much…"
The hands that clutched his hands tightened. "Don't worry about it, Ichigo. It does not have to come back all at once." A voice he feared and desired at the same time.
He blinked. "Ichigo…is my name…" he said softly. "I'm…in…soul society…"
"Good, good, that's better than you've been for a while," the other familiar voice above him said softly.
"I…I was captured…by Aizen…but it wasn't him…but it was and I knew that…but my head," he said, putting a hand on his head.
A female voice he knew spoke. "He used his hypnosis on you. And it is going to take a while to piece things together. He damaged you down to the level of your soul. It will be difficult to regain all your faculties."
Ichigo closed his eyes and listened as the voices talked around him, about him, but he didn't have the energy to interject. He was really too tired.
"The assimilation seems to have been successful, thanks to you two. But he's still not back to normal yet, those fractured pieces are still scarred. There may be holes in his memory until he fills them in slowly. Be prepared for panic attacks as they come back. All those things may happen again and he may not understand why, so stay close. You two seem to be the only thing that can calm him, Uryū," she said softly.
"Shouldn't he stay here, instead of going back to the manor? What if Byakuya triggers…"
At the name Ichigo felt a shudder take him and he shook his head. No, he wasn't going to be fooled by the illusion in his head. Not at all. The Byakuya he knew would never do the things that were currently attached to his name in his mind. Even so, the vision of Byakuya kneeling in front of him at his worst, willingly taking on his burden filled his mind. That was Byakuya. Not the Aizen-Byakuya.
"Are you okay?" came the voice by his ear as a hand encompassed his cheek. He nodded slowly.
He was fading though, and he felt himself slip into sleep again. He was too tired to fight it, though. He was falling but it was like his inner world was locked to him, why was that? It was weird, but he let himself relax even so.
A flash of pain and his eyes opened. He looked up into brown eyes familiar to him that filled him with dread. "Shatter." The word reverberated over and over in his head. Shatter. Shatter. Shatter.
He felt like he was coming apart at the seams, like he was shattering to pieces, fracturing turning and spinning in the darkness, spiraling down into a pit that was going to swallow him whole. Splitting open at the sides, blood falling, pattering on the white floor, splattering on the walls in a pattern of the mask he wore. Dripping, thick lines painted the floor around him as lifeblood flooded from his veins. And he looked down to see the knife in his own hands, opening his own veins wide. A childlike voice giggled. A manic sounding voice cackled. A furious voice chuckled. A fearful voice laughed nervously. A broken voice wept. They were pulling apart again.
"Shatter." Again, the world spun sickly, the pieces of the vision splitting apart and falling at his feet. Insurmountable pain mounted as faces swam before his eyes, faces he knew and loved doing horrible things to him, things they should never do. No, they were all illusions. Nothing more! Was this his power? But he couldn't even put his finger on the name, he knew it, back there somewhere, but just when he was about to bring it up to his mind…
"Shatter." He screamed, the filaments of his memory breaking apart in his hands. But he saw two faces. His Master, not his fake master, the tormentor. Then he saw blue eyes, and he knew he had to grab onto that image. Black hair, blue eyes, pale skin. Savior and Master. Both of them. They were only thing that didn't break apart and sweep away into the depths of the darkness that threatened to swallow him whole. Tendrils of night reached up and grasped at him but he gripped. He held tight, tighter than ever before…
"Shatter." Again, he screamed, his throat was raw with it and he thought he would spit blood before this torment was over. He thrashed in the confines of mind and body, feeling the searing pain shoot through him from toe to crown. His whole frame was wracked with the fight of it. He felt kido wash over him, he knew that kido, to make him sleep and he was glad, someone had heard him and taken mercy on him…
"Shatter." The kido broke apart and he was in agony again. He screamed in desperation, willing the kido to return, to grant him the sleep he needed, the sleep to make him forget all the nightmares all the horrors, but it refused to return. Instead he sought the faces that would ground him, the faces that would make the world stabilize and stop fracturing into billions of shards of glass. Grasping and reaching for those faces, the only stable things…
When did his face become my only thought? When did it happen…his mind spun out of control, casting back, back to the first time they met, or rather when he really noticed the Quincy. He had no idea what he was, he didn't understand, all he knew is he was protecting his family, and then he was protecting the souls from hollows, and even though he'd brought that massive fight on them, and the menos grande that was summoned, he didn't hate him. He didn't even mind so much that he hated Shinigami, and by definition him.
He wasn't defined by anyone. So they could call him a Shinigami, and he'd swear he was human. That was him. He didn't live in the borders created by others. He wasn't completely oblivious to those around him. He felt the eyes now and then, and he chose to ignore them. Never had he felt the butterflies of attraction in his stomach like others. He had enough to deal with since the stupid ghosts didn't leave him be, and then with the Shinigami stuff, and then this whole mess.
He became close to them all. And even pulling that damned prideful Quincy with him even though he resisted. Why would he do that? He never interceded and made others give him company. But him…he was different. He wanted him beside him. He wanted him there. But more than that, he wanted him to fill him with whatever was missing in his tortured soul. And then a memory surfaced. It was so clear.
Torment burned in every corner of his being but he saw the white sleeve, in the same way he had recognized that obnoxious white and green striped hat. It was hazy, pushing past the trained reactions that threatened to swallow the tiny bits of consciousness he could maintain by sheer will. But that sleeve, and he remembered clearly, even in his muddled mind, that he had to see if it was him. If he had really come to help him, finally come to help him after he cried his name so many times and suffered for it. And he knew that the only way to find out… And he tugged at the sleeve, his first contact that close to another body that he'd initiated…in almost two years… He remembered the light pressure of his fingers brushing the skin of his wrist and the cross falling from his sleeve. And just like that the slamming fear of uttering his name…he couldn't…couldn't say it or he'd be punished so badly…because he knew he'd begged for him to save him. And every time…every time…he was left nearly dead. And it had only been him. The others, he cried out, but only one did he ever scream to save him. And he never asked anyone to save him. Ever. But for some reason, this connection he felt, he wanted to feel protected and saved by this person.
Then he just was the only thing stable. His mind reeled, the cuffs no longer restricting his power, but he couldn't seem to connect the parts of himself tumbling loose in his frame. Something was wrong, something was so wrong, but still he held onto the only warmth in the world he was sure of at the moment. He gripped it tight and he soon couldn't live without it. It was his breath, his life, that security, the only security that he could hold to as his entire being twisted and writhed in some weird attempt to obliterate itself.
The pain, the aching pain that was left when the black barrier started to crack, whipping out and snapping his soul apart, swelled into his chest and he wanted to push it back, along with all the memories…
"Shatter." Again, a scream erupted as he grabbed, hands scrambling for some semblance of purchase. He was shattering again, the world wavering and falling apart until hands gripped his and the sensation was flooding him. It was a connection, a soothing, deep connection…
This time Master's face floated through his mind. When did this happen? When did the Master become separate from the Tormentor? The Tormentor had tried to be his Master, but there would be only one Master of him, and he was not the Tormentor.
Perhaps it was fighting for what was right, standing up to him when he knew he was wrong. Standing on the Sokoyo Hill, fighting for his sister's life against him. Then, when forced, he put himself between the Tormentor and his sister after all, and they were on the same thing. He felt the connection then, when his eyes followed him.
The feeling of needing structure, the feeling of being barely hanging together, and the dichotomy of the Master and the Tormentor, but they were separating and he was beginning to see. It hadn't been the Master's fault. The Tormentor had tried, so hard, to fuse him into his soul, but he failed, instead making the Master his. But this, was this because of that? The link was there, between them. He needed Master to break it, only the Master could break it…
"Shatter!" More insistent now, but the hands and the body they were attached to didn't shatter. Didn't disappear and he held on for dear life. Because this was his life, his whole being struggling not to give in to the insistent command to shatter his soul back to the fragmented mess it had been. How could this happen? There was some power over him, within him, connecting him to those that were still tormenting him… Master had to break it, it was the only way. This was Master's place he realized, but how could he tell him? He had to break it. The Savior put him back together, now the Master had to break this hold the Tormentor had on him.
"Shatter!" The sound was deafening as he felt his body stiffen and arch, the world wavering, but still the faces and the feeling of connection refused to shatter. He felt his reiatsu raise and before he knew it, the faces, the warmth was encompassed in his energy and pressure. He heard a gasp but it wasn't a painful one, just surprised. It coiled and coiled and drew him to him until he could feel something deeper than just a brush of connection.
"Shatter…" the voice was fading away in the cacophony of sensation as he felt the warmth taking over, pushing away the coldness, pushing away the voice…for now. He relaxed, slipping into the familiar area of unconsciousness.
-ooooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
The first scream brought everyone's attention to Ichigo again. He was obviously fighting something in his mind. Uryū moved closer along with Unohana and Urahara who flipped a couple monitoring devices on. Byakuya stood up from where he had been sitting beside Ichigo's bed.
"What's that?" Urahara muttered as another, stronger scream escaped the sleeping form. "That's not right…what is that…Unohana-Taichou?"
Uryū watched as Ichigo wrestled whatever demons ran through his head, then reached and took his hands into his own. Would it comfort him like before when he had the nightmares? He found more than a little sadness settle into his heart when he continued to thrash and yell out. He jerked suddenly at the words he was suddenly feeling surface in the mind of his friend.
"Urahara…why do I hear Aizen's voice?" Uryū said softly, looking up.
Both of the others in the room looked up. "What do you hear? Is it through the soul link you have with him?"
Uryū nodded. "Yeah, it…shatter. That's it, I keep hearing it, and every time, his soul becomes…shaky…like it's vibrating…"
"Oh dear, this is not a good sign, which explains the readings… Somehow he's got a link to him again. And I'm not sure how to sever it," he said, turning his attention back to him. "He's trying to shatter his soul again. Using his Zanpakutō power, no doubt."
"What's a soul link, Urahara?" he asked, squeezing the hands in front of him.
"You seem to share a soul bond, something rarely seen. Mates, lovers, friends, sometimes they come together out of a soul bond. Somewhere along the hands of time, souls sometimes touch and bond to each other. Through the years of reincarnations, they come back, sometimes reasserting their connection with each other. Some call it soul mates, others the concept of the twin soul, and still other the idea of bonded souls. Soul link is something that occurs when the two souls are reconnected, forging a bond that can't be broken. So, from here on, you and he will be able to sense disturbances in the soul, and because you are both reiatsu users, the reiatsu of the other as well," he said, speaking as he ticked off readings on a machine, never stopping the motion of his hands to change from his speech. "Byakuya was forced into this soul link through the hogyuku's intervention, though, so instead of one soul linked to another, there are two linked now to Ichigo. I'm unsure how deep the soul link between Ichigo and Byakuya goes, but it may only be superficial."
Urahara looked back at Uryū, knowing that he was the natural soul link. "I'm not sure how you and he feel about each other, and I am not even certain of either of you as far as preferences, but I must warn you, for connected souls to separate is detrimental. At the very least, you will need to stay close to each other as friends. Other than that, it is up to you both where you take things. Be warned though, the likelihood of either of you ever taking another in a romantic relationship is fairly impossible. Even should you stay friends, the bond won't allow a deep and lasting connection with anyone but each other." He paused and looked at Byakuya. "Byakuya's addition makes this complicated, however. Again, I'm not sure how he fits into the scope in the long term. But either way, I know how things will work with you, Uryū."
Uryū nodded. "So, either we are together, or we are alone for the rest of our lives."
"That is the gist of it, Uryū-san, I am sorry. When you established that connection, it was determined. If I had known before…I would have let you continue anyway to save him. And I am sorry."
Uryū nodded, squeezing tightly to both Ichigo's hands. He concentrated and poured what he could of his own energy into the body before him. Maybe if he could bolster him, through his own reiatsu… Suddenly, black reiatsu tinged with red burst out of him and encompassed them both, setting both Urahara and Unohana back on their heels. Byakuya reacted before he thought, the reiatsu release not pushing him back, instead it felt inviting. He reached over and put a hand on Ichigo's chest, the black snapping outward and encompassing him as well. After a moment it receded, and Ichigo was unconscious, and Uryū was standing panting over his body. Byakuya staggered back, unsure of what he had heard himself while in contact with Ichigo's body.
"It's gone, though I'm not sure what happened…" Uryū said softly, reaching out to brush the hair from Ichigo's face which was drenched with sweat by now.
Urahara smiled softly and motioned for Unohana to come with him. They left the three alone, so they could figure this out on his own. Byakuya nervously watched them go, feeling unsure and out of place. Master? He knew he had heard that word the second his hand touched Ichigo. But it wasn't the fear filled word from before. This time it had been comfortable and happy.
Uryū sat, putting his head down on Ichigo's chest and listening carefully to his breathing and heartbeat. He was also listening deeper for that horrible word. He wanted to tear Aizen's heart out so that that word would never emerge from his lips again. But he knew that was folly to think of that. He was a mere Quincy, and not even the whole of the Gotei 13 had been able to stand against in the end.
He heard someone enter the room and he looked up to see Renji standing there. He noticed as he stood up that Byakuya had left while he was concentrating on Ichigo.
"Hey, Uryū, anything yet?" he asked softly.
He nodded. "Yeah, it looks like Aizen's still connected to him somehow. Unohana-Taichou and Urahara-san went to see what they could come up with. Looks like we share some kind of soul bond…"
"Ah, those happen I've heard. Never met someone with an active and current bond. There are stories, of couples who go through hell to save each other. I guess someone one day we will be writing one about you," Renji said, patting Uryū's shoulder.
"Did you know about the bond?" Uryū asked softly, looking up.
He shook his head. "That's not something you can sense. And I know what it means, those old stories tell the tale of those that ignore such a bond, and live, long lonely lives. I really don't know how Ichigo feels about you, and I just hope for both your sakes, he feels the same."
"It gets weirder, though," he said with a sigh.
"Why's that?" Renji asked, watching him.
"I guess Aizen tried to force a soul bond between him and Ichigo. Only it didn't work because of the hypnosis, and it got mixed up, so it formed a soul bond between the real Byakuya and Ichigo instead," Uryū said as he held onto Ichigo's hand.
Renji shook his head. "Damn. That's…that's messed up because you can't undo something like that once it's done…"
The redhead sighed and watched for a while, and then walked out. Uryū sighed and fell into a rather uncomfortable sleep with head on the bed. He knew what Ichigo had said, that he felt the same, but could he trust what he was saying in such a state? He hoped he could. Still, Byakuya…what about him?
-oooooo-OOOOOO-ooooooo-
"So they actually managed to get my cuffs off and his soul is intact?" Szayel said, wide eyed. "That's impressive."
Aizen sat at the head of the meeting table. "Yes, and that means that he is more of a nuisance than I gave him credit for in the beginning. Grimmjow, go bring him back. You will still be seen as that annoying redhead to him. Cover your presence, and be careful."
Grimmjow frowned. "Aizen-sama, not to question you, but isn't that taking a huge chance just for one plaything? I know it annoyed you to have him taken away, but…"
Aizen sighed, resting on hand on his fist. "He's more than a plaything, Grimmjow. He contains power that isn't even tapped yet. I still have the hogyuku. I can finish the incomplete soul bond. He's stronger than I gave him credit for. Not many can survive what Szayel did to him. I will have him back."
"Why not just kill him?" Grimmjow pressed. It was really annoying to say the least that he'd been pulled for this.
"Because then, as you said, I'd lose my plaything. Something so powerful, under my control, and all those fools in soul society will know it," he said with a smirk. "Make preparations, and do not get caught."
Grimmjow stood and headed out. This was such a hassle. He'd hoped he'd never lay eyes on that pathetic creature again, and now he was going to get him right under soul society's noses. Well, it would be fun, perhaps. Once the rest of the meeting was let out, Grimmjow headed over to pick up some equipment from Szayel to make sure he wasn't detected in soul society for his mission. Then it was a matter of him being outside the walls… That could prove problematic.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Ichigo awoke and felt radiating warmth on his chest, and saw that someone's dark head was resting on him. He reached out and buried both hands in the black hair and felt him stiffen as he sat up to stare at him with those blue eyes that pierced him to the soul.
"I…I…" he stammered, and frowned, confused because he couldn't get the words to form.
"Hey, don't worry, it will come back, Ichigo," the raven-haired man said softly.
Ichigo. That's right, that defined him. His…name. What a difficult concept to understand as his fragmented thoughts tried to pull together. And he was trying to put together a name for the person before him.
"Ur…Uryū…" he finally stammered, his eyes going wide. There! He'd said it!
He was greeted with a broad smile. "Yes! Oh good, you remembered me, I was afraid it would take forever…"
Suddenly, unbidden, tears began to form in his eyes and he wasn't sure why. He was overcome at once with a tidal wave of emotions that he hadn't wanted to let out, but it happened uncontrolled. It was random, seemingly, and there was no real reason but he found himself in moments sobbing uncontrollably into Uryū's chest, arms wrapped around him, his whole body shaking.
Uryū looked up in concern to Urahara who had just entered. "It may happen like this, give him time, Uryū-san. Everything is going to come back fast."
Eventually, the shaking stopped and he looked at Uryū with a confused expression. "Why?" he whispered, almost too softly to be heard.
Uryū rubbed his back gently and smiled, letting the smile light his eyes. "Because…I guess I love your stupid Shinigami ass. And now I find out you're a Quincy too. So yeah."
Ichigo didn't look like he really understood what had been said. He just nodded and rested his head against him again. "Oh," he said softly.
After a bit, a fourth division member came in and was talking to him about how he was doing and how he felt. Uryū remained in his position, Ichigo clinging to him as he watched the other man walk around and talk with a wary eye. Then he reached out and took Ichigo's shoulder, asking him to lie down so he could examine him better so he could leave in a while. First his breathing quickened, and he was trying to do what he was asked, but as he lay back on the bed, his heart began to race and his eyes began to flit back and forth around the room. "No…" he muttered and shot up, grabbing for Uryū and finding comfort in the distinct scent he gave off. "Leave me alone," he whined, his face now buried in the Quincy's chest.
Urahara put a hand on the young Shinigami, "I'll handle this for now, okay? Can you get Unohana-Taichou?" The young man nodded and left quickly.
"Ichigo?" Urahara said softly, leaning forward.
He lifted his head and his eyes immediately went to Urahara's hat, making the coy shopkeeper smile with glee. "That's it. Now, can you lay back for me, just need to make sure you're okay before I let Uryū here take you back to Kuchiki-taichou's home to really rest."
Ichigo nodded but as soon as he was lying on the bed, grabbed Uryū's hand in a bruising grip. Wincing, the Quincy said nothing but watched instead. Urahara ran hands laced with reiatsu above him and nodded, stopping above his head. Ichigo squeezed his eyes closed as soon as he came close, though, tensing. Uryū patted his shoulder and waited. Unohana came in and nodded to Urahara.
"Alright," He said, smiling at them. "You can take him back, but please, if what happened today happens again, get him here immediately. I'm not sure if he's shaken off the link or not, but we'll continue working on it from here."
Unohana had laid a blue yukata down on the foot of the bed with a pair of tabi for him to put on. Ichigo stared at them as though they were a foreign substance as his mind tried to fish around for how to deal with it. Thoughts and memories struggled to connect together.
"I'll help, okay?" Uryū said and picked up the folded garment and shook it out, holding it up. Ichigo nodded and stood up, his covers slipping and he realized that he was completely nude underneath. For some reason though, it didn't bother him as he let Uryū wrap the obi around his waist and then helped him fumble the tabi on. He stared at his feet, now encased in white and then looked up at him.
"Sorry," he said softly, brow crinkling at some thought that ran through his mind suddenly.
Uryū shook his head and pulled him along toward the door. He led him slowly through the streets, garnering looks from several people they knew and didn't know. Every time someone got near enough to touch Ichigo, he'd flinch away and edge closer to Uryū. And Uryū, as annoyed as he should have been at the behavior, instead found himself very happy that he could be the one to offer comfort to the previously unbreakable friend.
They meandered their way to the room he'd been given and Uryū was sure that it was lunch by now. He told Ichigo to stay there while he went to see what was going on in the manor and where the others were. He found Rukia in the kitchen.
"We've returned, Rukia-san," he said with a smile. "Would you like to come visit him?"
Rukia thought and asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I think so, come, let's bring him lunch. Surely that will make him feel better," he said with a smile."
They returned to the room to find him sitting at the door staring outside. Rukia felt a burning ache, knowing how far he had fallen from himself. He looked up with a start at both of them entering, laden with a large tray between them, but he didn't bolt.
"Ichigo, Rukia would like to join us for lunch," Uryū said, setting the tray on a low table. He went over and pulled him to his feet to come sit for food.
He sat down and stared at Rukia for a long time until Rukia started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Are you okay, Ichigo?" she asked softly.
He frowned, taking up his chopsticks and shook his head. "No," he said simply and started to slowly pick pieces of food out to eat.
She bit her lip. "Okay, bad question, I guess I should ask, how you are feeling?"
Ichigo ate thoughtfully for a moment. "Pulling apart…trying to put together…jumbled."
Uryū patted his arm thoughtfully. "Ichigo, don't rush it. It hasn't been that long since we meshed that soul of yours back together."
Rukia nodded. "So how in the world did you manage to repair an actual soul?"
"Something about a soul link or something," Uryū said, frowning. "I guess our souls are now connected for good…"
"Like a soul bond?" she asked, staring at him. "Between you two?"
Uryū smiled. "So it seems. There's this weird second connection though, I guess Aizen tried to bond his soul to Ichigo's in the same fashion, but it went wrong because of the hypnosis. It bonded him to Byakuya instead."
"Orihime is going to be so upset," she said thoughtfully, eating a bit more. "You know she's always had a crush on Ichigo from what I understand. And now he'll be unattainable. Even if he were to completely recover from this."
Just then there was a noise and they looked up to see Orihime and Chad with Renji. Orihime was already teary eyed as she held her arms across her chest. "Kurosaki-kun!" she said, holding her breath.
He looked up and blinked at her and then looked at Chad and then returned to eating as though nothing had happened. Renji dropped his hand to her shoulder and squeezed tightly. "Believe me, it is an improvement. I know that's hard to believe, but the fact that he isn't running with us here, is an improvement. Did Urahara fill you in on what happened with the soul fracturing?"
Orihime nodded. "Yeah, somehow Uryū-kun and Kuchiki-taichou helped him?"
Uryū nodded, feeling Ichigo stiffen beside him. It was more than that, it was a soul deep rattle as the chopsticks fell from his hands and his eyes darted around the room franticly. The reverberations from his resistance flared out in black around his body like a second skin. He threw both hands to his head and held his head as a pain shot through it.
"Shatter." The word could be heard even by the others in the room.
"No, outta my head…outta me…go away…" he muttered, shaking his head violently, trying to dislodge the pressure. "Not again…not again…"
Uryū grabbed both hands and yanked them away, turning him to face him. He planted a hand on each of Ichigo's temples and pressed his forehead against his. "No, he's not going to do it again, stay with me," he said softly, the black reiatsu reaching out and encompassing him as well. Ichigo put each of his hands on top of Uryū's.
Uryū bolstered the bond between them, solidifying it until it was almost tangible in the room between them, a thick blue and black ribbon coiling around their bodies. The ripping effects were still there, but he was slowly calming them, and holding Ichigo's mending soul together with the force of his own.
"Master…" Ichigo muttered. "Master can help. Please."
Uryū couldn't let go for a second, though, his own energy sustaining the pieces of Ichigo's soul, but he felt a surge as a second set of hands covered Ichigo's. Uryū looked up to see Byakuya sanding behind Ichigo now. The effect was instantaneous. A frustrated sound, almost a scream, resounded and Byakuya's reiatsu began to coil around Ichigo in ribbons. Uryū understood now. Byakuya's link was the only thing that could dislodge the tenuous hold he still had on Ichigo's soul.
"You mistakenly believed I would abandon my duty because it was forced upon me," Byakuya said with his eyes closed. "You think you understand me, but you do not. A forced bond it may be, but one I will honor."
Uryū was holding to Ichigo's soul as Byakuya's power wound through him, encompassing him and severing the foreign link to Ichigo. There was a bright flare and then the reiatsu settled back down and Ichigo slumped against Uryū, completely unconscious. Byakuya stepped back, blinking rapidly. Urahara had come to the door.
"He tried again?" Urahara asked. Uryū nodded.
"I was able to stabilize the mending parts; he was going right for where we just put him back together. But it takes so much energy to do it… I think I understand now, though, why Ichigo kept focusing on Byakuya," he asked, laying Ichigo down, petting through his hair as he did so. He saw Byakuya step away, still watching.
"Aizen is nothing if not tenacious," Byakuya said, crossing his arms.
Uryū looked up at him. "You need to spend some time here with him, Kuchiki-Taichou. You can block the intrusion from the outside, all I can do is pull his pieces together."
Byakuya actually had a look of discomfort cross his normally stoic face. "I am not sure that is a good idea."
Urahara patted his shoulder. "I know you fear his reaction, but I think Uryū may be onto something. Before, it wasn't until you came in contact with him that Aizen was forced away. Uryū may have been necessary to seal his soul together, you appear to be something else to him."
Byakuya nodded, still unsure. Truthfully, he was still coming to terms with the idea that his face, his person, had been used to do something so horrible to him. He was unsure how such a horrible idea had come to Aizen's mind. It was too twisted to even comprehend. But then, using Hinamori as he had, he could see that cruelty was something that ran deep in Aizen's twisted mind. He was brought out of his thoughts by Uryū standing beside him, waiting for him patiently.
"What is it, Uryū?" he said flatly.
"I asked if you would stay with him, while I went with Urahara to perform some tests on me? I don't want to wake him and drag him with me," he said softly, glancing back at the sleeping Shinigami.
Byakuya nodded. "I will stay." Perhaps he needed to figure out what to do with him.