Chapter 14

The boy had slept all the way until lunchtime.

He had slept so long, and so solidly, that none dared try to wake him to escort him to the Kuchiki estate. It wasn't until Ukitake had stepped into the room to clean up the mess that the boy stirred from his dreamless, solid sleep.

The boy simply watched as the white haired man cleaned up, sweeping up the glass from the mirror and throwing away the splinters of door. He watched as he wiped up the dried blood from the floor and tossed the soiled rags into a plastic bag with the other garbage, but just before he stepped from the room, the boy finally spoke up.

"You're a dad, aren't you." The boy said softly as he slowly, with severe ache in his hip, pushed himself up.

Ukitake stopped just before the door and turned around, smiling sweetly at the boy. He set the bag down against the wall and walked to the bed, helping the boy adjust himself and lean back against his stack of pillows.

With the passing of several hours, the boy's injuries had deepened in their color, with his right eye swollen and dark purple. He looked as if he had gone ten rounds with Kenpachi, only to go ten more with Komamura. His lip was swollen and split, having scabbed over and the cut over his eye was surrounded with a dark bruise. His cheek had turned from red and purple, to be added with black and blue and even his knuckles had bruised over to make them look broken.

It broke Ukitake's kind heart.

"No... Not in the regards of having my own blood children." Ukitake asked quietly, still smiling as he gently sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Oh... I just thought you were because you're so gentle and kind." The boy said as he stared at his hands that had begun to pick at his fingernails.

"I do tend to care for those who need it. It has afforded me with many I consider my children, despite not actually being their father." Ukitake said softly as he crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap.

"I understand." The boy mumbled.

Ukitake's smile briefly broadened, "Now, since you're awake, why don't I accompany you to your new living arrangements?"

"New living arrangements?" The boy arced a brow as he looked up from his hands.

Ukitake nodded once, "Yes... A hospital room is not particularly comforting. Trust me, I know."

"Yeah, I guess." The boy half shrugged.

"How's your hip?" Ukitake asked.

"Hurts. If I lay down wrong, it feels like it's gonna pop out again." The boy said, slightly grimacing as he shifted his weight off that very hip.

"I figured." Ukitake said kindly.

"How far away are the new arrangements?" The boy asked.

"Further than I'm willing to let you walk. I'll get a wheelchair." Ukitake said, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder for a moment before standing.

The boy watched as he picked up the bag and left, only closing the door far enough to block his view into the outside without latching it. He watched through the small slit as people walked by, none stopping to even glance in his direction until one opened the door to allow Ukitake to return, pushing a plain wheelchair.

"Alright, my boy. Lets get you in." He said, locking the large wheels so it didn't move.

He stepped around the chair and helped the boy stand, but with the spiking ache in his right hip, the boy wasn't able to stand up straight. He needed to lean against Ukitake to help steady his weight on his left leg, but with the ache all over that seemed to bleed from his right hip to his left, even that was less than stable.

"Hold still. Use my shoulder to support yourself while I check your hip." Ukitake said as he knelt down.

The boy simply gripped Ukitake's shoulders and watched as the man gently pressed his fingers into his swollen hip. He winced every time, but yelped when Ukitake actually moved the head of his femur.

"Ow!... Shit." The boy swallowed down as his fingers tightened around Ukitake's shoulders.

"I apologize. I do not like that at all." Ukitake frowned as he stood and helped the boy to sit in the wheelchair by lowering him down slowly so not to aggravate the wound anymore than it already was.

"What's wrong?... Besides that it hurts." The boy said, blowing out a long blow of air to push back the heavy ache from his hip.

"Well, to start off, the tendons that hold the head of your femur in place are stretched, much like an over used rubber band. Unfortunately, I think the actual socket that the ball of your femur is seated in has widened, which means you most likely need surgery to repair it." Ukitake said as he placed the blanket over the boy's lap to help keep him warm from the chill of the day.

Ukitake unlocked the wheelchair's wheels and smoothly turned it around to head for the door where another small nursemaid held it open for him to pass by without running the risk of ramming the poor boy into the door.

"Great... I didn't realize I did such a number on it." The boy said as he just watched his hands instead of where they were going.

"From what I hear, you took a nasty fall." Ukitake said, turning the corner at the end of the hallway.

The boy nodded, "Yeah." He mumbled, catching a few glances from the others in the hallway at the severity of his bruising.

"You will be healed up in no time. I promise whatever surgery Captain Unohana decides to perform will not hinder you for long." Ukitake said.

The boy just shrugged as he continued to stare at his hands that had resumed their work in picking at his fingernails. He didn't want to see the looks he was getting from those they were passing by, and a small part of him feared that one would be the ghost who beat him, continued to beat him. Despite being surrounded by people who cared, he knew they cared, he felt alone, abandoned and set adrift. He felt like he was at the mercy of whatever celestial forces existed, unable to control wherever they might push him, much like how this kind man with white hair was doing for him now. He felt powerless do determine his own direction.

They left the hospital out into the chilly, but sunny day, with no hint of a breeze anywhere in sight. The trees were still and the air crisp, and even the leaves that peppered the stone ground were still.

The boy pulled the blanket up to cover his shoulders, and it helped to keep the chill away as Ukitake pushed him along. Nothing seemed familiar, not the stone, not the walls, not the people that passed by. He had no idea where they were going, but from what he had experienced with the man behind him, he didn't feel as if he was in danger. That was his only solace.

It wasn't until they arrived at a large front gate that was made of the most exquisite bamboo, carved with an intricate symbol of wings and wisdom over a shield that he looked up from his hands. It was a family crest, the boy knew that much, but anything more that, was lost to him.

"Here we are." Ukitake said lowly as he knocked on the closed front gate.

"What is this place?" The boy asked, studying the symbol etched into the bamboo.

"The estate of a friend." Ukitake said, smiling down at him as the gate creaked open.

A small, timid servant girl had opened the gate, and bowed as Ukitake pushed the boy inside. The boy didn't even hear what they were speaking about, but was absolutely, astutely, transfixed by the gardens before him.

The trees were nearly bare, but their branches were still strong and artful. They reached out in such random directions that depending on which angle you looked at them, they appeared different. The grass was a dull green, dark and dormant for the coming winter, and the pond that dominated most of the garden was still and cold. He could see just below the surface of the black water, and it was alive with fish that slowly swam, lethargic with the coming cold. Despite the season of decay, of going to sleep, the garden was still beautiful.

"Wow-" The boy exhaled as Ukitake finished his conversation behind him and started pushing them deeper into the gardens.

"It's just too bad it isn't Spring. It would be much more beautiful." Ukitake said as he followed the stone patch through the garden.

"I'd like to see that someday." The boy said, nearly too quiet for Ukitake to hear.

"I'm sure you will. These friends of ours have opened their home to you to help ease your mind." Ukitake said, stopping just before the bridge and going to the bench that overlooked the pond.

"Have I known them long?" The boy asked with a bit of a distance stare in his eyes.

"About as long as you have known me. Well, one of them at least." Ukitake said quietly, as he glanced to the manor to see a tall, thick man with shaggy black hair watching them.

Ukitake's smile faded as he shook his head.

"I see." The boy mumbled.

Ukitake stopped the wheelchair next to the bench so the boy could watch the fish and locked the wheels before kneeling down next to him so he could look into the boy's bruised face.

"Will you be alright here?" Ukitake asked as he blanketed the boy's hands with one of his.

The boy nodded, "Yeah. I like the fish."

Ukitake briefly smiled, "Good. I'll be back. You rest." He patted the boy's hands.

Ukitake stood and went to the man watching them, steadily breathing to settle his nervous stomach. The man's eyes shook as they looked passed him, staring at the boy watching the fish in the pond. That very shake reached his strong shoulders and his grip on the doorframe noticeably tightened with a steady groan.

"Isshin... Calm down." Ukitake said softly, so not to let his voice carry back to the boy.

Isshin exhaled with a shaky blow through quivering lips, and the sheen across his eyes was enough to white out the color of his iris's. He was very much a man on the verge of breaking.

"W-What happened to him?" Isshin asked with a thick gulp, finally releasing his hold on the doorframe.

"His inner Hollow. I found him at dawn just after it happened. In fact, I think I interrupted it." Ukitake said, crossing his arms.

"He looks so... so frail." Isshin said with a tightening in his chest.

"I'm afraid he is. His mental state is deteriorating because of the abuse his inner Hollow is afflicting. He's a shade of what he used to be, Isshin." Ukitake said, glancing back over his shoulder at the boy who paid them no mind.

"How do we stop it?" Isshin asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the visage of his son to wipe his eyes.

"We don't. This is Ichigo's fight now. All we did was make it fair so that he had a chance." Ukitake said.

"Can I go see him?" Isshin asked in a whisper.

Ukitake drew in a deep, chest filling breath and held it, "I'm not sure that would be wise. He's already in an unfamiliar place, with no memory of who he is. If we throw too many people at him, it could cause him to have a psychotic break. He's already dangerously close, Isshin."

"I have to see him. He has to know I'm here." Isshin argued.

"No... Isshin, trust me. Your boy is already in dangerous territory, and nothing we do can help him come home. Trust in him to win this fight." Ukitake said, placing a hand on the man's shaking shoulder.

"I do trust him, Jūshirō, but he's my son. He may not remember me right now, but he'll still know me. I know it." Isshin said with pleading eyes.

"Isshin-" Ukitake breathed out, only to be interrupted.

"Why didn't anyone heal him?" Isshin asked, resuming his study of the boy.

"His request. He said he wanted to keep them to remind him why he's going to win, but I fear they were just words." Ukitake said, taking his hand back.

"What?" Isshin asked, furrowing his brows.

"I think the real reason he wants to keep them is because he's afraid that if they were gone, his inner Hollow would come back and do it again. It's classic abusive mentality." Ukitake said.

Isshin slowly shook his head, "I can't protect him against what I can't see. There's got to be something else we can do."

"Nyruki, Renji and I have already done what we can. There is nothing left to do, but wait." Ukitake said.

"I heard... You went to Ichigo's inner world. Why didn't you take me?" Isshin asked as he stared hard into Ukitake's eyes.

"That would not have been wise. One false step because of your feelings could have done irreparable damage to your son. You're too emotional, Isshin and rightfully so, but taking you into his inner world would have caused more harm than good." Ukitake said evenly.

"Please, Jūshirō... Let me see him. I won't tell him who I am. Just let me see him." Isshin said as he started to beg.

Ukitake exhaled as he studied the large man, how his shoulders shook, how his eyes quivered with barely contained emotion. All the man wanted was to see his boy, the one he thought lost because the carelessness, the callousness of a human. It was not just the boy they were trying to save, but his family too.

"Do not tell him you're his father, but if he mentions it first, you can confirm it. Otherwise, just pretend you're another doctor looking to care for him. That's it." Ukitake said as he released a slow sigh.

Isshin nodded, "I will."

His heart was racing, thundering in his chest like someone was beating his heart with a hammer. His chest hurt, his head whirled with each step he took closer to the boy by the pond. Every fiber of his being wanted to simply wrap the boy up in his arms, to hold him, comfort him like he used to when the boy was little, just a babe held in his father's arms. He wanted to, needed to, but he knew that he couldn't, or risk the worst.

With a final gulp to swallow down his emotion, Isshin took the final step to the boy and knelt down into his view.

Now close to the boy, Isshin had to hold his breath to battle back the emotions of seeing his son so brutally beaten. The colors hurt him, hurt to see, hurt to think just how badly the beating must have cause pain. His ears heard the boy's screams, manifested them like phantoms on a wind. They weren't actually there, he wasn't actually hearing them, but they were figments of his imagination that only served to cause more ache in his heart.

"Hey-" Isshin's voice cracked, trailing off with doubt that he should have said something else.

The boy slowly shifted his eyes to look at this new man, but he seemed kind, unthreatening. His hair was spiky and black and his dark eyes were soft, albeit glassy and shaky. He was strong, evident in his wide shoulders and how his biceps filled out his t-shirt. Something drew the boy to this man, something unknown, something familiar, but there was not a question in the boy's mind that somehow, someway, he knew this man.

"Hi." The boy said, staying as still as possible, if at all to keep the ache in his hip away.

"How's that cut doing?" Isshin asked with a quick point to the cut above the boy's eye.

"Stings." The boy said.

"I bet. Looks cleaned well enough. Do you want a bandage on it?" Isshin asked, having to clasp his hands together to keep from touching him.

"Yeah. It'll help keep the cold air off of it." The boy said, looking back to the pond.

Isshin glanced over his shoulder at Ukitake, whom just nodded and stepped into the manor with the silent question asked if he could fetch a first aid kit. He looked back to the boy and his brown eyes were lost, faded into oblivion as he fell deeper and deeper into thought. He had to keep him talking, but words were failing him.

"I know you differently than the others don't I." The boy said, again, shifting his eyes to look at the slightly shaking man.

Isshin's chest spiked with more ache, "Y-Yes. You do."

"You're not just here to check on my injuries. If that was the case, you wouldn't be shaking." The boy said, still picking at his fingernails as he spoke.

Isshin breathed a smile, "You're right. I'm sorry... I can go if you wish."

Isshin shifted his weight to stand, and he had made it all the way to his feet, but he stopped when the boy reached out and grasped his hand.

"No... Don't go. I wanna know how I know you." The boy said.

Isshin's hand wrapped around the boy's as he knelt back down, never once looking away from the boy's distant eyes. They too were glassy, covered with emotion, but they also seemed distant, almost blind.

"Then I'll stay for as long as you need." He said as that glassy sheen thickened across his eyes.

"Can I be honest?" The boy asked with a barely visible quiver in his lower lip.

"Of course." Isshin whispered.

"I... I had asked Renji if I had a family, and he told me I did, and that they hadn't come to see me because they didn't wanna scare me. I told him I understood, but... deep down I wanted them to come. I felt nothing but alone, abandoned, but something's telling me you're him... That you're my family." The boy said in a low, shaky voice with tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

Isshin nodded as his throat closed up, "Y-Yeah... I am."

"D-Dad?" The boy choked out.

Isshin's eyes immediately spilled over as he nodded, "Yes... You remember me?"

However, the boy shook his head, "N-No... Just something's telling me to call you dad. I don't know your name... I don't know anything except that I should call you dad."

Isshin hiccuped as he reached up with his other hand and softly, taking care not to aggravate the boy's injuries, placed it on his cheek.

"That's enough for me. Everything else can come after." Isshin said in a shaky whisper.

The boy began to hiccup with sobs, "Dad... H-Help me. H-Help me remember because I can't do it on my own. Just help me, Dad."

Isshin's heart shattered as he rose up enough to wrap his son up in those very arms he had to restrain. They sobbed together, quietly next to the pond whose sounds of trickling water was enough to drown them out. The boy clutched onto him hard, as if he would blow enough if he didn't, taken by a storm to be cast out at sea. There wasn't a hurdle he wouldn't jump, no mountain he wouldn't climb to help his boy. Just being here and holding him, cradling him as if he were that same baby he held the day after he was born, it meant the world and he would continue to do so until the end of time.

"Tell me what I need to do." Isshin sniffled into his son's ear.

"I don't know. I want help... I'm begging for it, but I can't tell you how." The boy quietly sobbed into Isshin's shoulder.

"Then I'll figure it out, Son." Isshin said, holding onto him tighter.

"A couple people've called me Ichigo. Is that really my name, or is it just another name given to me by friends?" The boy asked, pulling away just enough to clean his tear and snot streaked face on the blanket.

Isshin nodded as he licked his lips, "Yeah... That's your name. You're my eldest baby." He sniffled.

"Eldest?" The boy looked up.

"Yeah... You have two younger sisters. They really miss you, but I know that we need to take this slow. Whoever did this to you is gonna pay, and you're gonna be the one to do it." Isshin said as he pressed a finger into the boy's chest.

"I wanna be, but I don't think I can. I'm scared to get beaten again." The boy said, this time without the soft sobs.

"Then don't let it happen. You're stronger than this. I've seen it... We've all seen it. You don't take anyone's bullshit." Isshin said, smiling.

The boy's split lips began to stretch into a soft smile, "Yeah?"

Isshin nodded, "Yeah... You're one of the strongest people I know and this," he circled a finger around the boy's face, "You won't let this happen again."

"I believe you."

As the boy's eyes began to shake again with barely contained tears, Isshin wrapped his arms around him again, not only to keep him warm, but to prove that he isn't alone and never was. Someone would always be there to catch him.

The white light of the cell was grating against his nerves, blistering in how nothing inside cast a shadow. Darkness simply didn't existinside the glass cell, trapped within a skyscraper that was submerged beneath the crystal waves of an endless ocean, and as such, the ghost, the Hollow, was at his wits end.

"I. Want. Out of here!" The Hollow barked angrily, glaring with murderous intent at the old man standing guard outside in the hall.

"That is not going to happen, Hollow. You might as well accept it." Said the old man, never moving from his posture of having his hands gripped behind his back.

"I won't just lay down and let it happen... It's my turn! I've waited long enough!" The Hollow hissed, clawing his hands in his hair atop his head.

"And you will continue to wait." The old man said flatly.

"Fuck off! Raaaaawwwwwwrrrrrr! Go fucking drown!" The Hollow howled, throwing himself against the wall to distract him from the fact he was going stir crazy.

"You are more than aware we can't." Said the old man.

"Don't remind me! It would be so much easier if I could just end you! You're always getting in the way!" The Hollow screamed as he angrily glared at the glass cylinder that suspended an unconscious Ichigo.

"I'm not the only one."

"No shit! If it wasn't for that asshat, I'd be free!" The Hollow snarled as he thrust a finger at the cylinder.

"He's got more soul than you, more fight, more will. So long as he exists, you will never take the throne." The old man said.

The Hollow hissed as he clenched his teeth together and balled his fists, glaring with rage at the bubbling cylinder. He hated the boy, hated how his hair was so vibrant, his eyes expressive, his attractive youth that seemed to swarm women around him whether he wanted it, or not. He hated his infallible need to protect those he loved and above all, he hate him.

"I should just kill him now and free us all from this fucking torment. I'd rather die than spent another minute serving under him." The Hollow said lowly, crossing his arms as he stepped up to the cylinder to glare at him closer.

"And what would that benefit? Your blood lust for the brief moment we would exist without him?" The old man asked.

"It would be worth it." The Hollow said as he spit on the cylinder.

"Such disrespect for your king. Do you have any idea what he'll do to you once he recovers?" The old man asked with a gruff in his voice that proved to the Hollow he rather liked the idea.

"If he recovers."

"Oh, he will. He always does. It's just this time, he had to overcome the rule of the universe. One does not simply come back from death." The old man said.

The Hollow hissed long and slow as he glanced back over his shoulder to glare at a new target.

"What are you? A fortune cookie? Stuff it!" The Hollow bared his angry teeth for a moment before looking back at the cylinder, streaked with the long ribbon of spittle.

"I'm rather enjoying angering you. Perhaps you'll make a mistake." The old man said.

The Hollow simply huffed and continued to stare at the cylinder.

The boy inside was motionless, with eyes closed and breath suspended in time. He floated without moving a single limb, hair gracefully fluttering around his face, caressing his skin like a lover's touch. He was still like a fragment in time, until his eyes twitched.

"What?" The Hollow gasped, dropping his arms to his sides as he refused to blink and risk missing anything.

Again, the boy's eyes twitched, but this time, a subtle jerk rattled through his entire body.

"He's waking." The old man nearly sang with delight.

"Shut up, Old Man!" The Hollow snapped as he looked back over his shoulder.

Again, the boy jerked, this time stronger, and more soon racked through his body. His head began to toss from side to side and he grimaced, winced from pain that none of the others could feel. The Old Man was right. Ichigo was waking up.

In an instant, that very boy's eyes shot open, quivering, shaking as they drank in his surroundings. All the Hollow could do was watch, wait and wonder what would happen next.

Just as quickly as they had opened, the boy's eyes narrowed into a scowl; an angry, violent glare that shifted down to meet the Hollow's gaze. The boy's lips began to curl, exposing teeth that were clenched so tightly that the strength reflected in the back of his jaw. His hands raised to press into the glass as he crouched down, ducking his head low like a predator laying in wait and brought his furious stare level with the Hollow's.

"Daddy's back."

The light of the Senkaimon was bright, so bright in fact that Byakuya's eyes stung from the assault. The Dangai had been so dark, the 72 barriers so black, that his eyes had seen nothing but eternal black oblivion for what seemed like hours.

He had spent the entire time thinking about Nyruki, how she was carrying his babies, his twins that were to be born sometime in the near future. He knew they needed to wed sooner so that she would take his name before their birth, but he wasn't upset about that. He wasn't upset at all. He was alight with joy, with pride that Nyruki would be the one whom would bare his children. He loved her even more for it and as he took each step that brought him closer to returning to the Dejan'Ra, he vowed that she would know, unquestionably, how much he loved her, how much he loved them, and how much he loved the idea that he was going to be a father.

Stepping out through the bright white light that seared his retinas, Byakuya shielded them until the doorway closed behind him. He was back at the Dejan'Ra, inside the royal Senkaimon chamber where he had last seen Kasai Fenikkusu Dejan'Ra. There wasn't a soul in sight, not even a servant, which left him the only choice but to shed the Ōken clothing and head for the door.

The stairway that lead up was still dark, and he was grateful for it, as his eyes were still tired from his conversation with the Soul King. He rested a hand over his chest as he bounded up, skipping every other step, and he could feel the crystal vial resting in his pocket over his heart. It was precious cargo and no bound, no jog, no sprint was going to jar it to break on his watch.

At the top of the stairway, he opened the door out into a darkened hall, and he realized it was night. The air was cold, sending a shiver down his spine as he backtracked his way towards the throne room of the Dejan'Ra. There was no one around, and it made him question what time it was.

His heart was racing, but as he stepped into the throne room, he breathed a sigh of relief, as Kasai was sitting in the throne, reading a book.

"Kasai... I return." Byakuya breathed, slightly out of breath from his rush to find someone.

Kasai looked up from his book and immediately closed it as he stood, robes billowing behind him as he quickly approached his friend.

"Were you successful, my friend?" Kasai asked as he rested his hands on both of Byakuya's arms.

Byakuya nodded, "Yes. I have the Blood of a Fate." He softly gulped as he forced to control his breathing.

"Amazing, my friend. Truly amazing. A feat none have been able to accomplish." Kasai said, removing his hands.

"It was not without sacrifice. You had asked what I would sacrifice for that boy? I offered myself." Byakuya said.

Kasai's face dropped, "B-Byakuya... Did the Soul King chain your soul in exchange?" He asked, nearly cupping a hand over his mouth.

"No... An eternal offering, for an eternal reward. By merely making the offer, I was gifted the Blood of a Fate." Byakuya said with his heart still pumping too quickly for comfort.

"You are an amazing man, Byakuya. You somehow manage to-" Kasai was interrupted.

"Nyruki's pregnant. I made the offer of myself despite knowing that she was with child... Two, in fact, and it was that notion that spurred the Soul King to give me what I sought." Byakuya said, the mere mentioning of it sending his heart into a fit.

Kasai's eyes widened, "You're to be a father?"

Byakuya nodded and swallowed.

"I don't know whether to yelp with joy, or to be frightened for you should the Soul King decide to cash in your offer." Kasai said with his mouth agape in a silent gasp.

"I do not believe the Soul King will do that. I think my plight is over, though I must hurry back. I only have two days left." Byakuya said, but frowned when Kasai shook his head.

"No, my friend... I'm afraid you don't. It is the evening of the 6th day. If you ride, you won't make it back in time." Kasai said as he drew in a deep breath to settle the flutter in his chest.

Byakuya's heart sank, "No-... No, that can't be. I was gone for a few hours. That can't be right."

"The Royal Realm operates on another plain, Byakuya. Time flows differently there. Those few hours were days here. I mean it when I say it is the eve of the 6th day. Tomorrow, if you do not return, the boy, Ichigo, will fade into oblivion." Kasai said.

"What am I to do? I made a promise that I have no hope of keeping now." Byakuya said as he dropped his face into his hand.

"My friend... You have friends in powerful places." Kasai said as he started to smirk.

Byakuya looked up from his hand, "What?"

"I took the liberty of connecting my Senkaimon to the Seireitei's. However, there is still a chance you can fail." Kasai said as he started to walk quickly down his throne room.

Byakuya instantly kept up, "What do you mean? Tell me."

"Take your steed and ride with reckless abandon, my friend. The Dejan'Ra Senkaimon is not an instant method of travel, but rather a race track of sorts. It will take you a day to return to the Seireitei, so you must leave post haste." Kasai explained as they stepped through the door, out into the barren foyer.

"I will. What of the current?" Byakuya asked, glancing over at the phoenix as they walked as fast as they could.

"Frozen. It may be fast, but it is just as quickly frozen with the snap of my fingers." Kasai said.

The two men burst out of the front door where they were instantly met with Byakuya's massive black horse, Kurohidzume*. He was led by a small servant, but he showed no fear of the massive beast that immediately got uppity at the sight of his master.

Byakuya wasted no time in hoisting himself up into the saddle, where the horse tried to rear, only to stop when the noble patted his thick neck.

"Thank you, Kasai. You have just as much a hand in saving the boy as I do." Byakuya said as he doubled checked the security of the crystal vial against his chest.

"Just save him, Byakuya. There is no more time."

With a snap of his fingers, the bright white of a Senkaimon door opened directly in front of Byakuya's horse that this time, was allowed to rear from the sudden burst. His massive hooves stomped at the ground as his thick throat grunted and huffed, aching to run towards home through the square of bright light.

"Ride, my friend and do not look back." Kasai said.

With just a nod, Byakuya jabbed his heels into Kurohidzume's sides to spur him forward and with a launch from his powerful back legs, Byakuya was gone and headed for home.

*Black Hoof