Hey guys, sorry about this. I realized I kinda screwed up the ending here. It didn't make sense with how the next chapter was going to go...so I fixed it and reposted it. Sorry if that annoys...but hopefully it was the right call going forward into the next chapter. I'll be uploading the next chapter soon after this posts...so you won't have to wait long for new material. Enjoy and thank you all for being so patient. Smiles.

His Duty as Clan Leader

Life in the Soul Society slowed to a dull roar. Nothing new going on. Nothing exciting happening. No dangerous enemy to battle. No perilous mission to take up. Nothing interrupted the mundane daily life of a soul reaper. Since Kohaku's invasion of the Seireitei, peace once again settled. Their regular duties were all the moved the days along.

Rukia and Renji fell into a sweet routine: eat, work, couples personal time and sleep. They were spending more and more time alone together. Byakuya didn't even want to think about what they were doing. The humans hadn't returned since Kohaku's invasion either and the Gotei Thirteen were busying themselves with new Academy recruits. That left the noble clan head with way too much time on his hands. He was rather bored. No Ichigo Kurosaki in almost four months. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was order...and it was all wrong.

However, being the kind of man he was, he didn't waste the valuable time he'd been given. He had plenty of time to assess what was happening to him. He learned a lot about himself, about his feelings. He realized he truly hated the silence. He much preferred the constant interruptions Ichigo Kurosaki provided by showing up unannounced, usually to visit his sister or second in command. He found he actually missed having to break up whatever mischief they got themselves into or eavesdropping as they three friends laughed and playfully bickered together.

He learned that, more often than not, he appreciated Ichigo Kurosaki's input, perspective and opinions. More so than he ever cared to admit. Ichigo was very intelligent and remarkably reasonable regardless of his quickness to reckless behavior. In truth, he admired Ichigo's courage in the face of untenable situations. Admittedly, he only ever went that far for someone or something he cared a great deal about.

Only a few months ago, Byakuya discovered he was quite attracted to the substitute soul reaper. Absolutely every aspect of him. His body, which Byakuya glimpsed during the time he cared for Ichigo while he was sick, was damn near perfect. It took every ounce of strength he possessed not to caress or touch Ichigo. Byakuya loved his bright, orange hair. It was unique and screamed Ichigo's passion for life and individuality. He had a smile Byakuya could never get enough of. Ichigo was so very animated. There was never a time when you wondered how he was feeling. You knew when he was angry, when he was sad and when he was happy. He was very attracted to his personality. He was strong, courageous, and completely selfless. He had a kind heart. Oh, Byakuya had no doubt Ichigo had dark and painful secrets, everyone did, but overall he was friendly if not a bit grouchy sometimes. He made friends and allies with ease and attained loyalty with little to no effort at all. Lastly, but certainly not least, Byakuya's favorite feature was Ichigo's eyes. They were honey-brown and deep. They were sincere and so very expressive.

He realized, over the time they'd known each other, that Ichigo was a constantly able to surprise and amaze Byakuya. The interest and hidden talent for music, for instance. He expected an interest in what humans called rock, pop and metal. What he never expected was Ichigo's love for classical music. It was astonishing and a very welcome surprise. When Isshin Kurosaki informed him Ichigo was able to play the violin, guitar and piano, he was stunned. He held a new respect for Ichigo. Little things like that made getting to know Ichigo an adventure...one he never wanted to end.

So, with this newfound knowledge, Byakuya learned that he liked Ichigo very much. More than he thought was wise to admit. Instead of facing his fears, he threw himself into his work. What else was there to do?

Now-a-days, Renji was handling everything with practiced ease within the squad. There wasn't much there for him to do at the moment. Since there was little else to do, he buried himself in clan business. The Kuchiki Clan was responsible for compiling and protecting the history of the Soul Society. His clan duties included date retrieval, record keeping, cataloguing and protecting every hand-written volume. It was dull work, but very important work.

He was about to finish for the night when one of his librarians came running frantically toward him, wringing his hands anxiously.

"My Lord, something strange is happening."

"Calm down and explain."

"I was cataloguing in the Legendary section, when one of the tomes started glowing and hovering in the middle of the room."

Legendary section. That was a special section of the Soul Society's history. There were shelves upon shelves of tomes within that section. Among them were volumes on the war between the Quincy's and Soul Reapers. There was an entire bookshelf dedicated to the Head Captain alone. The Bounts were also housed there, as well as the more recent events of the Winter War with Aizen.

'Ichigo..." Byakuya thought.

"Show me," he demanded.

They hurried to the Legendary section and found it exactly as his subordinate described. One of the thick volumes was hovering over the writing podium in the center of the room. It was glowing an eerie blue, which was different from the gold that usually appeared when something was being added.

Byakuya approached it slowly in case it had been bewitched. He checked the binding. It was one of the newer volumes. He looked at the pages the book was currently open to and his eyes grew to saucers. The writing on the page was disappearing. He tried to quickly read was what left. It was about Kohaku's invasion. It wasn't that the event was that big of a deal. The only reason it found its way into this section was because of Ichigo. Everything pertaining to Ichigo was written into the Legendary section. It wasn't every day a human from the World of the Living became a soul reaper and a very powerful one to boot. He looked closer and watched as Ichigo's name was removed.

"Contact the elders," he ordered.

As the librarian left, the book suddenly glowed brilliant gold. He read it again. This time he watched as the story of Kohaku was re-entered, this time with another's name in place of Ichigo's. The story now read that the Quincy, Uryu Ishida, fought Kohaku to protect the Seireitei. Without warning, it snapped shut and shelved itself. Assuming the phenomena was at end, he turned to leave. Then he heard the flipping of pages and whipped around to see another tome glowing blue over the podium. Another volume was being altered.

He read as much as he could before it was erased. This was about the battle with Ginjo and his band of followers in the World of the Living and the decision to restore Ichigo's power using the spiritual energy of the Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei Thirteen. Again Ichigo's name was being removed and replaced with another. The Quincy was used once more.

Faster this time, another book replaced the last and the process continued. He saw the name on the binding. Winter War. As with the last, Ichigo's name was removed and replaced with others. Each tale was different. Urahara's, Renji's Uryu's and even his own name was written in lieu of Ichigo's.

The librarian finally returned, four members of the Kuchiki clan counsel behind him. Byakuya faced them even as the phenomenon continued behind him.

"What is going on, Byakuya?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki is being erased from our history."

Murmurs and gasps erupted.

"It is imperative that we discover how and why this is happening and who is responsible for it. We must find a way to reverse it."

They scrambled, "Send word to Head Captain Yamamoto immediately. He must be informed of what's transpired here."

"Yes, right away."

Byakuya left the archives to search for his sister. She would've been the last one to see Ichigo. As he left the estate, he bumped into Urahara and Yoruichi.

"Byakuya..." His former mentor began.

"You don't bring good news." It wasn't a question. The look on her face said it all. Something was very wrong.

"No. There's been an incident in Karakura Town. Ichigo's been attacked by an arrancar."

"I thought they all agreed to a truce."

"That's right," Urahara picked up telling the story, "Since we discovered that all the espada survived, I have led the negotiations in Hueco Mundo. There is a peace between us so long as Ichigo Kurosaki is a member of the counsel. He gave the most support when the topic to create a truce came about. It seems that there's been a recent uprising of rogue arrancars. Apparently, there is some resistance to the peace. The attack was focused solely on Ichigo alone. He's been poisoned. The culprit has been detained and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are dealing with him now."

"Ichigo's condition?"

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at Byakuya's lack of Ichigo's surname, but thought better than to bring it up now, "He was struck several times with sharp, poisonous barbs. He's unconscious and seems to be in pain, though we're not sure if it is physical or mental."

"We have an even bigger problem. I've just come from the archives. Ichigo is being erased from history."

"Well that's not good." Urahara stated.

"No, it is not. I've already informed the Head Captain about it. Rukia and Renji should be informed..."

"They're with him now."

'Of course they are,' Byakuya thought.

"Then I shall go as well. I would suggest you both go back to Hueco Mundo and break that arrancar. If we are unable to reverse what is happening to him, he must."

"Agreed. Good luck, Byakuya."

"Kuchiki-kun." Urahara bid farewell and the pair vanished in a flash.

Byakuya called up a gate to the World of the Living and stepped through, arriving in front of the Kurosaki residence. It was dark. No one was home.

"Brother!""Captain!"

Renji and Rukia appeared at the same time, calling out to him.

"Where is Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"At Uryu's. His family is out of town."

They led the way to a large house. He was pulled upstairs and into a guest room. The Quincy, his father, Inoue and Chad were standing around the double bed, where Ichigo was lying. Ichigo was sleeping fitfully, tossing back and forth, his face screwed up and sweat dripping down his face and neck. Orihime looked at the noble, tears streaming down her face.

"I have already tried using my powers to heal him, but we've seen no response." She cried, rubbing her swollen belly.

"What are those?" Byakuya nodded at the blue orbs at each corner of the bed.

"An invention of my father's. They are simultaneously feeding him spirit energy. We're hoping this is something he can fight. We think if we can restore his spirit energy, he can fight off the poison on his own."

Byakuya stared at Ichigo. His heart clenched. It physically hurt him to see Ichigo like this. Was there nothing they could do?

"Urahara told me he was unsure if this pain he seems to be in is physical or mental in origin. Have we at least established that much?"

Ryuken, Uryu's father, looked at him, "Yes, we have. I am quite certain it is mental in nature. I have tried to use a painful stimulus on his skin and he doesn't respond at all."

The noble pulled the desk chair next to the bed and laid a hand on Ichigo's. Contact would be needed for what he was about to attempt.

"Captain, what are you doing?" Renji was surprised.

"If this is mental, that could mean he is fighting something in his inner world. I can help him."

"Be careful, Ni-san. Delving into another's inner world is dangerous."

He nodded and closed his eyes. Ichigo's inner world was confusing. It was blue skies and tall skyscrapers, but everything was sideways. Everything was also covered in wet moss and clumps of seaweed. Did this world used to be submerged? It didn't take him long to find Ichigo. He found him battling a very strange looking arrancar. It was shaped like a plant, a huge flower protruding from its head. His inner hollow and Zangetsu were screaming at him, but it was like Ichigo couldn't even hear them.

Shiro turned to face the noble, "Where you been?"

"You were expecting me?"

"He was," Shiro gestured with his thumb over his shoulder, "You've been savin' his ass left and right lately, he almost expects it now."

"Well, I'm here to help in any way I can."

The hollow rolled its eyes, "We didn't think this was a social call, your highness."

Byakuya wanted to correct it's manners, but figured that was better left for a better time.

"What's happening? Why aren't you helping him?"

"We have tried." Zangetsu informed him, "He does not hear us."

"We've been trying to help him, Kuchiki. There is a barrier between us and him."

Zangetsu walked forward only to be bounced back.

"Ever since he was hit with those barbs, he's been acting weird. Can't hear us, can't see us. He hasn't even been asking or calling for us. It's like he doesn't know we exist."

"We believe if we could remove the barbs, the barrier would fall. We're not even sure why he hasn't removed them himself."

"Stupid, Ichi. It's like he doesn't feel them sticking out of him."

Byakuya thought a moment.

"Maybe he doesn't. Perhaps that's how they work. In the Soul Society, Ichigo is being erased from our history. As I understand it, the arrancar that attacked him is resisting the new peace between our worlds. I believe he thinks that if Ichigo Kurosaki never existed, history will change in his favor."

"You don't think that it will?" Zangetsu asked.

"I have seen the records myself. Ichigo is being removed, but someone else always rewritten in his place."

Zangetsu sighed, "So, really he's changed nothing. How wasteful."

"You said it, Zani."Shiro agreed.

Byakuya went forward to touch the barrier, test its strength, but found nothing blocking him from moving forward. The arrancar growled at him and shot more barbs at Ichigo, which he barely dodged.

"Ichigo!"

"Byakuya, get back! Those things are dangerous!"

"Then remove those!"

"What?"

So he didn't know they were there.

"I'll take care of you, soul reaper. Soon you'll be less than a memory."

So that's why he didn't see his zanpakuto and the hollow. Those barbs were removing memories as well as his soul. He needed to be quick. He distracted the beast using his flash step skills. Senbonzakura leapt from Byakuya's hilt in a fury storm of pink petals and surrounded Ichigo, protecting him from the barbs that were flying at him. Byakuya joined him inside the barrier and tried to pull the barbs out himself. He was stung when he tried to touch them.

"You shouldn't be here. You'll get hurt. "

"You should be more concerned about the predicament you're in. I'll be fine. I cannot do nothing. I will not stand by as our history is altered. I will not allow you to be erased from existence."

Ichigo was shocked, "That's what's happening?"

"Yes. You are an important part of the history of the Soul Society. It is my job as the Kuchiki Clan Leader to protect that history."

"Thanks."

"No thanks needed. It's my pleasure. Now I have an idea to remove those barbs from you."

"The ones I can't see?"

"Right. I think I know a way to get them off, but it's dangerous."

"I trust you."

The truth of that statement floored the noble.

"My zanpakuto is deadly. You know that every one of these pink petals is actually a small shard of my blade."

"Yeah."

"Have you ever noticed that I am never harmed when I move it around me or use it as a barrier like this. There is a fair amount of space in the middle."

"I did. I assumed that's how it works."

"Well, I need to keep that space in order to not harm myself. However, I can close that gap if I so choose. I'm going to close the gap around you and use Senbonzakura to cut the barbs off of you."

"Ok."

Something crashed through the pink barrier and struck Ichigo in the thigh. They looked at each other, check the integrity of the barrier and then glanced at each other again.

"Get ready, Ichigo. That arrancar is getting better at breaking through my zanpakuto."

"What?"

"I said..."

"I heard what you said, Byakuya. I mean, what's a zanpakuto?"

"Oh, dear. We'll have to do this quickly."

"Uh, okay. Where are we?"

Byakuya apologized for not explaining and jumped out in order to close the gap around Ichigo.

"Damn soul reaper. I'll tear you to shreds just like Kurosaki!"

Byakuya dashed about, keeping just out of reach. He used his hand to control Senbonzakura, closing the space in the middle. He felt resistance against the blades. The barbs. It must be working.

Screaming caused him to stop abruptly. All at the same time, he wall fell, Zangetsu engaged the enemy to pull him away from a wounded Ichigo and Shiro was at his King's side. Byakuya joined them.

"You okay?"
Ichigo was cut in random places around his body, but the more severe wounds, the holes left behind by the barbs, were the worst.

"I'm fine." He looked up at Shiro, "Where you been!"

"Oh, now you remember who I am. I've been here the whole time you bastard!"

Ichigo laughed, "I remember everything. It's like the real me was trapped inside. It's hard to explain."

"What do ya say we kick this creepy weed outta here?!"

They clasped hands and the hollow disappeared. Zangtsu sent a getsuga at the creature, then joined them. He nodded to Ichigo and disappeared as well. He and Byakuya squared off against it and, together, they defeated the arrancar. They pulled from Ichigo's inner world and opened their eyes on the living plane.

"They're back." Ryuken announced.

"Ichigo...how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Orihime. Just a little sore."

"You gave us quite a scare." Uryu said.

"Glad to see you're doing better."

"Hey, Kisuke." Ichigo waved.

Yoruichi and Urahara returned to the house after failing in Hueco Mundo and held their breath with everyone else.

"Ni-san. How did you do it? We tried everything."

"I'll let Ichigo tell you. I must return to the Soul Society and see if the archives have returned to normal."

Ichigo was quiet and for good reason. Byakuya had yet to release Ichigo's hand. The noble surveyed the human's reaction to his touch. Ichigo's face was turning red. His caramel eyes were flicking between their clasped hands and the edge of the bed, as though trying to pretend not to notice. Understanding dawned on the noble and he released Ichigo's warm hand immediately.

Byakuya stepped away from the bed, feeling more steady with the distance.

"Well, I shall be on my way then."

"Yeah...thanks again," Byakuya nodded, turned to leave, but paused when Ichigo spoke again, "You're a good friend."

The world seemed to hold its breath. There was silence for no more than thirty seconds, then to everyone's surprise, Byakuya responded, "As are you. Until we meet again."

"Yeah..." Ichigo said, dazed, but elated.

Byakuya left quickly. It was getting too intense in there. Too many eyes staring. Too many unasked questions hanging in the air. Heat was rising up his neck. His heart was racing curiously. What was he thinking? Friends? He allowed himself to get close enough to be considered a friend?

He stopped abruptly in the front lawn. He turned and looked up at the window of the room Ichigo was resting in. He learned something crucial during this encounter. He realized, much to his own astonishment, that a life without Ichigo Kurosaki would not be a life worth living at all.

Byakuya knew then he was changing. His impressions or feelings, whatever it was, it was changing. Ichigo was no longer a ryoka he loathed. Ichigo was not someone who annoyed him anymore. Ichigo was becoming something of a comfort to Byakuya. He had so many things to think about and in the end, he decided, perhaps friends was the next logical if not stratigical move. Either way, it was help him to understand the changes that were happening perhaps find an answer to why.