… A Good Deed…

/Warning/: This chapter contains, cussing, sadness, a little bit of violence, a little bit of fluff, Ichigo being a little shit, and Byakuya is done! And who knows what! I appreciate all the reviews.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

… Flashbacks or dreams…

"Zanpakuto or Hollows talking"

Chapter 5

"Thank you for saving me…" Byakuya said as he wrapped the leg of the lion that saved him, trying to stop his tears from falling down every time the poor lion let out a whimper of pain. Byakuya still didn't believe how fast the last few minutes were; he still didn't believe he was saved from a monster by this lion. A lion that was never supposed to be in Soul Society; Byakuya raised his head to study the lion in front of him as best as he can, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and return to treating the lion's wounds as best as a five years old can.

"Um…ah…rrr… ahhrrr… yooo… kkkk?" The noises coming from the lion made Byakuya blink his eyes in shock, a gasp left him when the lion repeated the series of noises over and over again; the longer the lion repeated them, the faster Byakuya understood them, because believe it or not, the lion seemed like he was speaking!

"Are you… are you asking me, if I am OK?" Byakuya asked slowly, pointing at himself, his eyes widen more than they already were when he saw the lion pause for a second before nodding as best as he can. "Wow…" Was the only thing Byakuya could breath, he still couldn't believe what just took a place not a few seconds ago, but a small smile painted itself on his face. "Yes, I'm fine; it's you who got hurt, lion-San, not me." Byakuya said as he returned to the wound, tying the piece of fabric tightly as best as he can so that it won't get loose. "There all sit!" Byakuya gave the lion a happy smile, his smile widen even more when he felt a purr coming from the lion that saves him.

.

Byakuya looked around him, making sure that no one was following him before he rushed toward the forest, a big smile painting itself on his face; his arms were clutching a sheet that was wrapped around whatever kind of food he was able to smuggle out of the Kuchiki mansion without anyone noticing. It had been three days since the lion saved him, three days of Byakuya being happy and being able to make a friend; his first real friend, who doesn't look down at him and tell him to move on, that his father was dead, that he needs to stay strong because he was the heir to the Kuchiki clan. His first friend who accept him as who he was, just a five years old kid.

"Lion-San, lion-San, where are you?" Byakuya called out when he reached the clearing he kept meeting the lion in, he waiting for a few more seconds before he heard a rustle coming from behind, causing him to turn around. Byakuya's smile gets bigger when he saw that the person who was behind him was no one but the lion himself, who came out of his hiding place. "There you are!" Byakuya let out a giggle as he rushed toward his friend when he stood in front of him. Byakuya showed his friend the treasure he was able to get, getting pleased noises from the lion. "Look! I got you enough food to last you the whole day, I will bring more tomorrow, are you hungry, lion-San?" Byakuya fired his questions left and right, his smile got wider and wider when he was met with nothing but a purr of appreciation from the lion.

.

"No, no, no! Not byaakkkaa, it's Bya-ku-ya!" Byakuya sat in front of the lion, petting his head gently as he repeated his words, slowly, hoping that his friend will get it in the tenth try, like he got all of the other words Byakuya had been teaching him. It was surprisingly easy to teach the lion to speak, especially when he seemed to have the talent for it, and Byakuya was content with their time together without someone interrupting them, for the past few weeks everyone was giving him a wide birth, probably to give him some peace considering that his father died not a long time ago; his father, the only one who treated him with love and not with the Kuchiki stiffness, his father who filled his days with laughter and kisses, his father who would have been happy to meet his new friend, the friend that made Byakuya's life more bearable since forever.

"Byaaa-kuuuuu-yaaaaa?" The lion tilted his head in question after he finally got the hang of saying his name, which made Byakuya grin happily and nod his head, jumping to teach hid friend a few more words before the call it a day and Byakuya had to go home; Byakuya wished he could always stay with the lion, at least then, sadness was rare and his days were filled with laughter and new experiments.

"That's good; you did wonderful, lion-San!" Byakuya smiled happily, enjoying the purr he got from the lion. "Say, lion-San, what's your name?" Byakuya asked, finally gaining the courage to ask his friend the question that had been running through his mind for forever now.

His words made the lion pause and tilt his head, letting out a huff of air that made Byakuya narrow his eyes when the gust of wind made his hair go in all directions. "Don…t… reemeembeer." The lion said, lowering his huge head, letting out a sad noise that made Byakuya feel bad about asking such a question.

"Hey, it's OK, no need to be sad." Byakuya whispered, petting the lion on the cheek and giving him a reassuring smile, hoping that it will make his friend feel alright. "I will help you remember, so don't worry, OK? The two of us can do it; we can find your name and whatever you forgot." Byakuya nodded his head, believing wholeheartedly in what he just said, which made the lion put his huge head in Byakuya's lap, letting out happy purrs that made Byakuya feel all warm inside.

.

"What? You found a Hollow in the eastern Kuchiki's land?" His grandfather's voice made Byakuya flinch in his hidden place, and he stood up frozen, fearing that his grandfather would catch him and his treasure of goods. Today was promised to be a good day with the sun shining happily, and Byakuya being able to hoard many goods to give it to the lion, but as soon as he tried to tiptoe near his grandfather's office everything went south.

"Yes, Kuchiki-Taichou, it was a strange kind of Hollow, an exact replica of a lion, he was wandering near the Kuchiki mansion…" Byakuya didn't stay long enough to hear the rest of what was going on inside the room, he got enough to realize that they were talking about his friend, his lion friend, who turned out to be a Hollow, his friend, who wandered near the Kuchiki mansion because Byakuya was late this time, his friend that will get hurt when his grandfather catches up to him.

Gasping Byakuya finally reached the meeting spot; he hoped against hope that his friend was waiting for him in it. "Lion-San! Lion-San! Please show yourself!" Byakuya cried out, fear taking hold of him at the thought of his grandfather reaching his friend first… Byakuya doesn't care, he doesn't care if his friend was a Hollow, he doesn't care if it was Shinigami's duty to kill Hollows, he just wanted his friend to be safe! Tears started trickling down his eyes when there was no answer, and Byakuya nearly starts sobbing loudly, the thought of his friend dying and leaving him like his father was too much.

"Byaaa-Chaaan…" A gruff voice called out his name, causing Byakuya to turn his head and let out a relieved sob when he saw it was the lion, finally getting out of his hiding place to make sure that Byakuya was OK. Something that brought more tears to Byakuya's eyes; he knows that his friend was good, that his friend will never dare to hurt anyone, but no one will listen to him, especially when the person he was trying to defend was nothing but a Hollow.

"Lion-San, hurry up, we need to leave, the Shinigami are going to come here and hurt you!" Byakuya choked as he said those words, and he saw with his two eyes, how tense the lion became, turning around and looking behind him with fear that Byakuya never dared to think that his friend will feel; it was then that Byakuya's resolve strengthens, he was going to save his friend, no matter what! "Come, I know where you got to run to!" Byakuya wiped his tears, gazing up at his friend with determent eyes; he just needs to run fast and reach the Senkaimon gates faster than his grandfather, if he did, his friend will be safe…

He had to save his friend…

"So Byakuya-Kun, tell me how you meet Ichigo? I mean I know about him saving you from a Hollow, and then you saved him from the Shinigami by giving him a secured passage through the Senkaimon gates, but I always wondered, why?" Nel Tu asked, an hour through their journey, her words snapping Byakuya from his daze, and he turned to the woman, who was looking at him with wonder in her green eyes, those eyes that sparkled with curiosity.

It was hard, answering a question like this, for once, there was a lot of whys that were left unanswered by both Ichigo and Byakuya, a lot of whys that made Byakuya stay up all night for years and years until he was able to make peace with himself and force himself to move on and forget; secondly, long time ago, so long ago, Ichigo was Byakuya's only friend, the only friend who accept him as who he was without addition or expectations, the only friend that made Byakuya felt like he was worth something, the only friend he has to this day, and was proven not a day ago.

"I just felt like it, that's it." Byakuya shrugged, looking at the white sands and black skies, ignoring the eyes he felt on him; he ignored Nel's knowing look, he ignored Isshin's confused one, and ignored Masaki's concern one, and Karin's hateful ones. The only one who didn't seem to be concern or didn't think it was important to judge him with her look was Yuzu, and it made Byakuya unease for a second because out of everyone, Yuzu's gaze was the closest to her brother; never judging anyone, and always giving them a chance, no matter how the cards played him in the end.

"I beg to differ." Nel said with a happy smile, humming a cheerful tone, ignoring Byakuya's scowl. "I knew Ichigo for like a century or so -even when the two of us didn't cross each other's path that much- and I have to tell you, out of everyone here, the one he remembered the most was you Byakuya-Kun; it seemed that you have left a mark, a good one at that if his order of protecting you in our war against Aizen was anything to go by." Nel stated with a knowing smug smile, making Byakuya press his lips tightly, forming a thin line.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Byakuya ended up saying through his gritting teeth, hoping against hope that he won't snap at the woman and confirm her thoughts. For Byakuya, it wasn't that Byakuya didn't cherish his friendship with Ichigo, it wasn't that he hated being associated with a Hollow who saved his life when he was five, it wasn't that he felt shame about what happened two centuries ago; no, none of that, the thing was, you can't forget and move on from laws and conditions that have been hammered into you for more than two centuries. It is hard, very hard, especially with all the secrets that seemed to multiply as time passed. The unknown was hard and scary, and Byakuya hated himself for feeling scared like he was still the same five years old that Ichigo saved.

"Here we are!" Nel jumped cheerfully, and for once, Byakuya was glad that the woman's with the short attention span decided to react now of all time; because then it meant that she won't question him more than she already did. "Welcome to Las Noches!" Byakuya's eyes widen as he took in the white palace in front of them; in the back of his mind, Byakuya couldn't help but think it was fitting in a way, a lion king living in such a place like this. "Now, I don't want to be a killjoy or something, but please, under no circumstances, you are to leave my side, the place is huge, and people can get lost inside easily; no one in all of Hueco Mundo knows the full layout of the palace other than Ichigo and considering that you are going to stay with him, I don't think that you should worry, but just in case if you get lost, search for any of the available Espada to help, they will help." Nel continued her chatter, explaining to them everything she is permitted to tell them about Las Noches.

It was half an hour later that they finally reached the entrance, which was something that stumped Byakuya for he thought that the palace was near but it turned out that the palace was so big it can be seen miles and miles away. "It's so big…" Karin stated in an awed voice behind them, she was followed by all of her family who were also stumped by the huge palace.

"Ichigo!" Nel screamed as soon as they arrived at the meeting hall where Ichigo was sitting with the rest of the Espada discussing something. Nel's loud voice made everyone raise their heads and turned to the crazy woman who hops around the place, leading the Kurosaki and Byakuya with her. "Look, just like I promised you, I found them!" Nel grins widely as she pointed to the Kurosaki family, causing Ichigo to blink and gaze at her with a bored look.

"You are late." Ichigo stated as he stood up, a blank expression on his face, which caused Nel to pout. "By an hour I might add, you took the long way again, didn't you?" Ichigo's eyebrow twitched when the woman gave a mocking salute and Sonido out of the hall as fast as she can, leaving Ichigo with the shocked Kurosaki who were gazing at him with disbelieving eyes.

"Ichigo…" Masaki's voice broke as she whispered his name, causing Ichigo to give her a small smile that was nothing but a tug at the corners of his mouth, but it was enough for the woman to let out a sob and rush toward her son, pulling him in her embrace as she starts sobbing. From the corner of his eyes, Byakuya noticed how all of the Espada stood up and Sonido out of the hall, leaving Ichigo with the Kurosaki family plus Byakuya alone in the meeting hall; Byakuya was feeling like he was overlooking something private he shouldn't have been giving the permission to see, which made him uncomfortable by the second.

"Ichi-Nii…" Karin stood up in front of Ichigo, her lips trembled as she tried to open her mouth and say something, but the words refused to leave her lips, it was a while before the girl finally gathered herself and gazed at Ichigo's golden eyes. "I'm sorry, it was… it was my fault, if only I… I'm sorry…" Tears start sliding down the teen's face, and Byakuya can see that this was the first time, the girl dared to let anyone see her tears. Pursing his lips Byakuya gave one last glance before he Shunpo out of the hall…

He has no right to witness this…

"You ran away again." Byakuya heard from behind him, causing Byakuya to scowl and turn his head to see that indeed, it was Ichigo who was talking to him, and not some other Espada who thought he was lost, just his luck. "We really should find an alternative to that habit, it's a bad influence." Ichigo stated, coming to stand beside Byakuya and overlook the unnatural blue sky under the doom.

"I don't know what you are implying." Byakuya stated, sending Ichigo a nasty look, getting a smug smile in return from the man who couldn't contain his amusement anymore. "What about your family? You shouldn't leave them alone, not when they finally found their son after years." Byakuya hummed, turning his eyes to the blue sky, ignoring the Espada beside him.

"They need a little time to get over the shock." Ichigo said, turning his gaze to Byakuya, frowning a little when the younger man didn't spare him a look. "I never thought you will have it in you to show up." Ichigo whispered, getting a snort from Byakuya, which did nothing but cause a small smile to take over the Espada's face.

"How can I not, when you have all the answers I want." Byakuya turned his head to gaze at Ichigo, taking in all the changes that took place in the past two centuries; part of Byakuya wanted to refuse that the Espada in front of him was the same lion that saved him centuries ago, another part of him was stumped that this was his one and only friend. In the end, Byakuya was left confused and unbalance something that he hates feeling.

"What an amusing thought, Bya-Chan, I was thinking the same thing; you know, you still owe me the answer to that question I asked two centuries ago." Ichigo grin, watching Byakuya like a hawk tracking his every movement; the grin on the Espada's face widens, even more, when Byakuya clenched his fists tightly, trying to appear none-challenged by the promise that was uttered years and years ago.

"I do not know what you mean by that." Byakuya hissed, hating how smug and pleased Ichigo looked like he got his answers just by the few movements and ticks Byakuya displayed; Byakuya hated how much Ichigo could still read him like an open book when Byakuya himself couldn't read this Ichigo at all.

"Oh, but I think you do, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have come here." Ichigo stated coldly, turning Byakuya around until the Shinigami was facing him, and Byakuya nearly jumped out of his skin because looking at Ichigo now, made him feel like prey that Ichigo success in capturing. "Tell me Byakuya, didn't I change enough? Look, I'm more Shinigami than a Hollow, I could even pass for a Shinigami easily if it weren't for the Mask and the Hole where my heart used to be." Ichigo smiled, causing Byakuya to press his lips tightly.

"I can see that, I'm not blind." Byakuya let out a tired sigh turning his face to the side, only to raise his eyebrow when something caught his eyes. "It seems that we have a company." Byakuya stated, pointed to the hallway, causing Ichigo to scowl darkly and turn his eyes toward whoever dared to show themselves.

"Starrk?" Ichigo gritted his teeth, his gaze not leaving the wolf who stalked through the hallways; to Starrk's credit, he only spared Byakuya a curious glance before turning to Ichigo, his face, as always has that bored and sleepy look on it, but something in his eyes made Ichigo stop from lashing at the Espada in front of him.

"Tier Harribel informed me that two Shinigami were spotted running toward Las Noches followed by a few humans; it looks interesting, I'm sure you would like to talk with the Sou-Taichou about them breaking the deal and entering Hueco Mundo without being invited." Starrk yawn as he said those words, an amused smile playing on his lips when he saw the predatory look on Ichigo's face…

Byakuya could help but feel this was going to end up badly…

So what do you think?

We got to know more about Byakuya and Ichigo's history!

Poor Byakuya, he was going to face a lot of hard times in the next chapters!

Read and Review

And tell me what you think…

Nazaki-Sama