I do not own Bleach.

"Kuchiki-taicho! Stop!"

Byakuya strode towards Yamamoto's residence, his steps full of purpose. Behind him he could hear the protests of Ukitake-taicho and Kyoraku-taicho but he forged on, not listening to the various reasons they threw at him not to bother the Captain-Commander. His grey eyes glinted like steel. He had known the old man was hiding something. The fact that they found nothing in the archives after searching for hours proved it. He was going to get to the bottom of this whether those two following him liked it or not.

"Wait!" Ukitake said loudly. "I have another theory."

"I don't care to hear about something that will do nothing but waste more of my time," Byakuya answered shortly, his steps not even faltering.

"Ukitake, do you even have another theory?" Kyoraku asked mildly, not even bothering to lower his voice.

"Well…no, not really. But…wait! Kuchiki-taicho!"

Byakuya had increased his pace when he heard Ukitake's admission. This was a waste of his time. He could be out there looking for Rukia but instead he was rushing headlong into being detained. He didn't care. He was the 28th head of the Kuchiki Clan. Whatever happened, he was going to save his sister.

Suddenly a lithe form dropped to the floor in his way. Byakuya halted, his hand going to his zanpakuto. The figure rose up and smirked and Byakuya suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he recognised the person before him. His breath escaped him in a whoosh. Yoruichi was raising an eyebrow in that superior manner he so hated, especially when she used it on him.

"Get out of my way or I will make you," he said calmly, the threat underlying his words.

"No. Listen to what I have to say first. Then you can decide if you want to do something stupid," Yoruichi said. "There is a room hidden in Seireitei that contains research Urahara Kisuke did when he was captain of the twelfth squad. In it contains every single piece of knowledge he came across. You might want to try searching through that before approaching the Captain-Commander."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "And was the Senkaimon unsealed for that very purpose? You came all the way to Soul Society just to tell me that?"

She smirked. "No, I've been asked to assist you to find whatever it is you're looking for. And there was a brief window of opportunity when Kurotsuchi went to Hueco Mundo, which you very well know."

"By whom?"

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you. You don't think this involves all of us now that the Shiryoku's existence has come to light?"

"Where is this hidden room you speak of?"

Yoruichi looked around her before beckoning him closer. Byakuya stood his ground, refusing to entertain such actions. She rolled her eyes and scooted closer, the expression on her face making him feel like a child again. He suppressed to urge to defend his actions, knowing he had no reason to explain his motives to her.

"It's beneath the twelfth squad's laboratory," she said. "Not even Kurotsuchi knows about this place."

Byakuya turned on his heel and strode toward the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. He could hear the others following behind him. Perhaps they didn't join him because they could sense the dangerous aura he was giving out. Only Yoruichi didn't seem to care, coming to walk beside him and, much to his annoyance, kept up with his long stride.

"Are you certain that we'll find anything useful in there?" he asked, his eyes swivelling to the side without turning his head.

"No, I'm not certain at all, but I do trust Kisuke and I believe him when he says he has everything that hasn't been recorded in the archives," she replied bluntly. "It's just a matter of using our discretion."

"Strong words from someone who doesn't know if we'll find anything to begin with."

"It's called faith. I don't expect you to understand since you've probably never felt it before."

Byakuya made a sound of annoyance in the face of her smirking, knowing she had always been this provoking. Why she did it, and why to him of all people, he would never know. She had just always liked pushing his buttons. Maybe as a child he would have exploded by now and gave as good as he got, but now, as the head of his clan, he wouldn't display such inappropriate behaviour.

"Don't worry," Yoruichi added. "We will find Rukia. I promise you that, Byakuya."

Hueco Mundo

Ichigo directed the blast of his Getsuga Tensho to group of Menos who were determined to take off Renji's head. The redhead stumbled back and collapsed on the white sand. He was breathing hard and had more wounds than he had admitted. Ichigo could see the effect it was taking on him and he gritted his teeth.

The hollow just kept coming. He didn't know from where but since he and Renji had first started fighting them, their numbers hadn't diminished in the least. In fact they seemed to grow stronger every time they attacked. It was starting to annoy him. He jabbed the tip of his zanpakuto into the sand and used it as a rock, leaning his weight on it. His own breaths were laboured and he sustained injuries to match Renji's. When the hell was Urahara going to open the damned garganta?

"I blame Hitsugaya-taicho for this," Renji muttered.

Ichigo grinned, a smile that did not reach his eyes. "So do I. At least we had a clue that Rukia had been here. So his intuition was right. The timing just sucked."

Roars abounded the wasteland, causing both men to tense their long frames. The ground began to rumble and Ichigo stumbled as his zanpakuto was wrenched free from the ground and away from him.

"Oi!" he yelled. "Come back here."

He raced after his blade and dove for the handle, barely catching it in his grip. The ground moved and he fell down hard.

"What the hell," he snarled.

"Ichigo!" Renji snapped. "Back away!"

The sand in front of Ichigo began to rise, higher and higher, a towering structure of white grain. Clumps of sand fell over and around him but he could only gape at the monstrosity over him. It was the same creature he thought Rukia had destroyed the last time they were in Hueco Mundo.

"Rurouniga," he muttered.

"It's Runuganga!" the creature roared, spraying sand all over Ichigo.

"I thought Rukia killed him," Renji uttered in shock.

"No one can kill me. I am the sand. As long as that's around, I can regenerate. Over and over and over again," the creature roared.

"Damn it," Ichigo said standing up. "The last time Rukia used the power of her ice zanpakuto to defeat him. We aren't packing that kind of heat. Getsuga Tensho!"

It cut through Runuganga but the creature just reformed itself, drawing up on the sand below. It laughed horribly. "You can't kill me a second time," it growled. "I won't let you. You will die here as you were meant to the first time."

Renji smirked. "As if you could take down two Shinigami. Who do you think we are? We aren't going to just lie down and die quietly."

"Oh? Then I'll just have to wear down your will to live."

Ichigo swiped his thumb across his nose and grinned. "As long as Rukia is still out there, I will never give up the will to live."

Runuganga drew up its sand hands and brought it down on both Ichigo and Renji. They came up coughing sand and prepared themselves for the next attack, zanpakutos raised for battle. They had twin looks of determination on their faces. They would get the better of this creature.

"Renji," Ichigo said. "Let's kick this thing's ass."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Renji said with a dark grin.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

"Hikotsu Taiho!"

Before their blasts could hit Runuganga roared, throwing its head back with enough force to have cracked his spine, if he had had one. They stared in confusion as he began to freeze from the bottom up. The ice continued to move at a rapid rate until it completely coated him. Then the creature broke apart into a million pieces, scattering among the sand around them.

"Is that Toshiro?" Ichigo asked, blinking. "Did Urahara manage to open the garganta?"

"One, it's amazing how you lack the talent to sense even the faintest amount of reiatsu," Renji snapped. "Two, I'm astounded you're still alive for getting away with such disrespect to Hitsugaya-taicho. And three, no, that's not his reiatsu." Renji ended faintly.

Ichigo stared at the redhead with droll eyes. "This isn't the ideal time for you to have an emotional breakdown, Renji."

"Urusai!" Renji snapped. "It's Kurotsuchi-taicho."

"Huh? What's he doing here? And how did he manage to get here if your theory about the garganta being sealed is true?"

"Look, it was nothing more than a theory. As for how he got here, it's Kurotsuchi-taicho."

Ichigo was alarmed at the bluish colour Renji's face became. He clapped the man on the back and grinned. "Don't sweat it. If he's here that means we can get out."

"Bankai. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo."

"Move, Renji!" Ichigo yelled, shoving him out of the way, as the giant caterpillar that was Ashisogi Jizo towered over them, moving toward the oncoming hollow with a speed that belied its physical appearance. Its cry gave Ichigo the shivers, a fact he would never admit to the redhead.

Poison spewed from its mouth and started infecting the hollow, causing them to disintegrate. He jumped out of the way trying to avoid getting infected himself but the poison inched closer and closer.

"Oi, Kurotsuchi," he yelled. "Are you trying to kill Renji and I?"

"My, my, Kurosaki, your tenacity to not become one of my test subjects is truly admirable," Kurotsuchi's drawl came from within the poison. "However in this case I don't care about that. If you don't get out of my bankai's way, you will end up becoming a test subject for me, regardless of whether you like it or not."

Thanks for reading! :)