Years later, it was reported that Urahara-taichou was exiled from Soul Society. I didn't hear much of the details, but I heard that he was banned for the creation of an illegal gigai, a temporary faux body. Yoruichi-sama followed him and quit the title of Corps commander. Byakuya was Yoruichi's friend I heard. They used to play shunpo tag together when they were young. Rena told me that Yoruichi always beat Byakuya and everyone started calling her the God of Flash. Byakuya didn't really do much after she left except he scolded her from afar.
--
It was an ordinary lovely day in Soul Society and I was sitting under a tree, covering my eyes from the sun. It had been quite a few years since I joined the Gotei 13. Almost everyday I went out to Rukongai to see if I could find Rukia or at least traces of her. So far, I couldn't find her anywhere. My job was getting in the way of my search honestly, but I couldn't stop working or Unohana-taichou would punish me for sure. I just finished searching and was taking a break when I saw Byakuya-sama crossing the garden. He turned to me and I waved at him casually. It was always like this. I would see him walk by and I would just give him a wave and he would continue walking. Today he seemed troubled. He walked towards me and sat down beside me.
"We haven't spoken to each other in a while, Hisana." he said.
"Oh, yes. How are you and Rena?"
"We're scheduled to inspect the aftermath of a hollow gathering in the material world. Some people used too much bait again."
"I wish you good luck with that. Oh, and how is your captain? I heard he's sick again."
He nodded as he watched the leaves move in the grass. Something wasn't right now. The air seemed thicker than ever and Byakuya's eyes were tense.
"Where's Rena?" I asked him. He stood up as I said it.
"She's probably heading towards the gate. I should go now too, but before I leave, do you feel the heavy atmosphere?"
"I do."
"I have a bad feeling." With that, he walked away and I hugged my legs to my chest. I watched him leave with the noble dignity that followed. This heavy air made me sleepy. I decided to close my eyes, just for a little bit.
--
When I woke up, I was walking back to the General Relief Center and sat down on a chair. There were no patients today. It was strange. Suddenly a shinigami came in through the door panting. He rushed past me like I wasn't even there and went into Unohana's office. I stood up and went to the open door.
"Unohana-taichou! Squad 13 would like to request some persons from your squad to tend to an injured shinigami."
"How many?"
"Actually, we would like for you to come as well as however many you choose."
"Alright then. Hisana, you seem to be the only one nearby. Please accompany me."
I nodded and followed the messenger to what seemed to be a gate in the distance. It was the gate connecting the human world with Soul Society. Some shinigami were huddled up in a group, holding someone down.
"Captain Unohana has arrived. Please step aside," I told them.
I moved some people to the side and kneeled down beside my captain. The man on the ground was bloody everywhere from his hands to his legs. He was covering his face and spitting blood from his mouth onto the floor. I grasped his bloody hands and removed them from his face to see in front of me, Byakuya-sama. I gasped and fell back in horror.
"Byakuya-sama!"
"What happened?" Unohana-sama asked the shinigami surrounding us. Ukitake-taichou stepped forward and kneeled down, wiping the blood off Byakuya's forehead. Unohana started to heal him as 13th squad's captain started to explain the situation.
"I'm not sure what happened because I was in Seireitei as my shinigami inspected the site. When I heard a distress call, it was coming from my squad. Byakuya was badly injured when I found him. One of them told me that once they were about to leave, there was a tear in the sky from the incident beforehand with the hollow bait. Apparently, many Menos Grande gathered at the tear and started reaching out for something. One of them got a hold on Rena and pulled her into Hueco Mundo. Kuchiki tried to save her and got injured by them. We failed to retrieve her back."
"Is it confirmed that she is dead?" My captain asked.
"Right now, we regard her as missing. A change in status will commence if she doesn't return."
I put my hands above Byakuya's wound and started healing him. I couldn't concentrate well because of all the information I just learned. Seeing all the blood on him made me dizzy and tired. He was struggling to break free of our hold on him. I listened to the agony in his heavy breaths and silently cried in my mind. Rena was gone. The hollows took her away.
--
Later reports told us that except for Rena, no one else was "killed" or taken by the Menos Grande. No one else was injured by them except for Byakuya. It hurt me because they were the only ones that suffered. No one had any idea why they came through and took her only. They...I could only weep for her and hope that in some way, she survived, but there was no chance in hell that she could've escaped. The following morning after Byakuya was hospitalized; I visited him in the station. When I entered his room, he was looking up at the ceiling.
"Byakuya-sama."
He closed his eyes for a few moments before opening his eyes again. I sat down in the chair by his bedside and started to unravel the bloody bandages from his arms. He watched me as I took out new bandages and as I wound them around his arm. We didn't say a word to each other. I started working on his abdomen and I saw the scars on his body. There was the imprint of a hollow's finger that pierced his flesh. Sadly I looked up at him to see him closing his eyes in pain.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"There's...nothing to be sorry for."
"I wasn't able to save her."
"No one could've stood up to those hollows. You, you couldn't have saved her, even if you had help."
"No, I wasn't able to stop her from leaving. I...wasn't able to save my parents. I wasn't able to stop Yoruichi from leaving and I couldn't stop Rena from leaving. I..."
I could see the pain in his eyes as he clenched his teeth. I sadly looked at him and his emotions. This was probably the first time I saw him so angry at himself and at the world. I never saw him show the sadness in his heart like that. I put my hand on his shoulder and looked down. Tears from my eyes splashed on the bandages and I shook my head. I shouldn't be the one crying. Byakuya should be the one that was the most affected by this, but I could help, but feel his pain.
"Byakuya...sama."
I finished bandaging his chest and wiped my forehead. Things in this world, they were so unfair. I bit my lip as a sakura petal flew by.
--
Byakuya-sama returned to his normal unfeeling self the day he was released from the 4th division headquarters. He looked like nothing changed in his life, but I alone could see that something was missing inside of him. Sometimes, when Rena complimented him or scolded his unemotional self, he would give the slightest smile, but now, there was no smiling left. I returned from my break, the time when I searched for Rukia and saw Byakuya resting outside. He was staring at the clouds, fiddling with the grass in his hand. I didn't want to disturb him, so I avoided talking to him that afternoon. We would meet again that night when he was out walking.
I saw him standing in front of a large pond, looking at the moon's reflection. He folded his arms together and sighed.
"Byakuya-sama."
"Yes."
I didn't really know what to say after that. I just felt like saying his name; that was all. "Can I join you?"
He nodded so I stood next to him.
"About Rena-chan...Had they..."
"They confirmed her death and filed her name under the causalities, even though we haven't found her body just yet."
"Oh, okay then."
"I wonder, why do you go missing every lunch break?"
"Oh, well you see," I looked at him uneasily, but then sighed. "When I came to Soul Society, I came with my little sister. At first, things went alright I guess, but later I couldn't support her anymore. You might think I'm terrible, but I had to...abandon her. I had to let her go so that I could live. I know, I'm selfish, but...anyways, I decided I should search for her in Rukongai. Maybe if I find her, then I could bring her back to Seireitei. We could be happy once more."
"You haven't found her yet."
"You're right."
We felt the breeze and I held my hair to stop it from covering my face. The moon was full tonight and the stars twinkled brightly in the sky. Byakuya reached for a blossom that broke of from the branches in the air. It landed on his finger and he stared at it for a while. I copied him and reached for a flower, but this one was different. It was a plum blossom while he held a cherry blossom.
"Rena would reincarnate in the real world, right?"
"I suppose." Byakuya sighed.
"Maybe one day, we could find her walking the streets of the material world. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Maybe, or they could've turned her into a hollow instead."
"I suppose, but let's not think about that Byakuya-sama...It's too painful to think about the bad things! You should...well...think about what good will come." I didn't mean to shout in the middle of my sentence, but Byakuya-sama didn't mind. He let go of the flower and drew out his zanpaktou.
"I don't believe you ever seen my shikai," he told me.
"Neither have you seen mine," I responded. I tried to smile. He gracefully waved his sword around and then he put it parallel to his body. His hand turned the zanpaktou sideways and quietly he said: Chire, Senbonzakura.
What happened next amazed me. His blade and guard and even his handle started to disappear. Out came fragments that circled around us. The tiny blades reflected the moonlight and they resembled sakura petals. With his hands, he used circular motions to control the tiny shards so that they danced around us like flower petals. I gazed at them in amazement and watched them skim across the water and cut the grass below.
"Orimageru, Tatsumaki."
I released my zanpaktou and flicked open the fans. I moved them like the ocean's waves and spun my whole body. Slowly, he lost some control over the "petals". I spun my fans and the wind picked up, carrying the shards to me. He raised his hand and the shards moved back. Back and forth, we pulled on Senbonzakura until we both let go and the petals dispersed in midair. They exploded like fireworks and started to rain down on the pond. He pulled him back to his side and condensed it back to its original form. I couldn't help but laugh as I fell down from my body's weariness. He sat down too and placed the sword back into the sheath.
"That really is a beautiful zanpaktou, Byakuya-sama...huh?"
He was smiling, almost laughing. It made me smile even brighter. I moved a little closer to him.
"That was the first time I've seen your zanpaktou as well. It surprised me that you could use the wind to control my Senbonzakura."
"Well, that wasn't much," I laughed. "You overwhelmed me the whole time."
I got up and he gave me his hand so I could get up. I patted down my kimono and smiled one more time at him.
"I should be going back now."
"Me too."
I waved goodbye and started walking towards my headquarters when I heard Byakuya's voice.
"Hisana, thank you."
"You're welcome, Byakuya-sama."
He started walking the opposite direction and I went my way.
--
It seemed that the night we released our zanpaktous, Byakuya seemed happier. He still had the same face, but instead of sitting under the trees, he got out more and visited 4th division often. What was even better was that he was asking for me most of the time. We would speak about random things like the weather, Ukitake's conditions, the patients I received, what I saw in Rukongai and other small things that came to mind. More and more we kept each other company until we became close friends.
"Hisana."
"Does your sister look like you?"
"Yes, she does...a lot like me."
"Alright."