Legacy of the Moon

Arc I: Forbidden End

Chapter 15: When Sesshomaru met Byakuya II

"Sesshomaru, you should feel honored to know that you are the first being against whom I am about to use this technique. Prepare yourself and behold! Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," He muttered while staring at the Daiyokai.

Now Byakuya's Bankai started to arrive into its true form where the scattered petals unified into complete glowing swords, numbering in the thousands, which form four rows. These rows were floating just above each other, circling Byakuya and Sesshomaru in a continuously moving, column-like array. Sesshomaru was carefully analyzing every corner of that structure through his sight, upon noticing that, Byakuya said, "You will not understand anything just by staring at the structure of my Senkei, let's resume the battle." Both of them stared into each other's eyes while charging their spiritual pressure. Sesshomaru responded to him after a break, "Very well."

Now the Daiyokai resumed the battle by attacking with his poison claw technique which the Shinigami dodged easily by jumping high in the air but the next moment he was attacked by the energy whip. Byakuya somehow managed to dodge even that and then he rushed towards Sesshomaru with a fierce speed holding two swords in his hands, one in each. Sesshomaru's energy whip and both swords of Byakuya clashed many times before the latter reached close to the former. Afterward, he swung both swords at Sesshomaru while using the generated momentum due to which the Daiyokai got pushed back a significant distance away.

Without giving Sesshomaru enough time to prepare, Byakuya immediately directed eight swords toward him from different directions while he rushed toward him as well. Sesshomaru immediately stabbed his Tensaiga into the ground and released a significant amount of his demonic energy which destroyed the ground and made some of the rocks bounced upwards. The rocks blocked the swords while the next moment, Sesshomaru used his demonic speed in order to gain sufficient momentum to counter Byakuya. Their sword clash generated strong shockwaves and both of them ended up getting injured though Byakuya had received a greater injury than Sesshomaru. However, none of them stopped at this point and once again they clashed their swords with great force. While both of them were engaged in the weapon deadlock, suddenly a few swords separated from the rows and rushed towards Sesshomaru which he dodged by pushing Byakuya away from him at the last moment.

Now the battle slowly seemed to be shifting towards the decisive phase as both the warriors were releasing a significant amount of their spiritual pressure while attacking and hence were continuously inflicting injuries on each other. Both of them stabbed their sword straight into each other's torso, right below the shoulder, continuously trying to push the blade further in. However, Byakuya soon fired a Sokatsui and such a close-ranged blast separated both of them with some more injuries. They slowly got up while staring at each other and both of them were equally ready to continue fighting to the very end. Though both of them were almost equally injured yet Sesshomaru seemed to be in a better condition being a Daiyokai. His demonic spiritual pressure was continuously healing his injuries, on the other hand, Byakuya knew that he won't be able to continue much longer and thus he was thinking about using Shukei Hakuteikan.

Suddenly Byakuya sensed something and his eyes got widened with the shock. After a few moments, he tilted his face down while his Zanpakuto got slipped from his hand and stuck in the ground. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was surprised to see the expressions of sadness and disappointment on Byakuya's face all of a sudden but before he could have done anything, the entire structure of Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi fell apart in the form of several petal-blades. After the structure disappeared, Yoruichi slowly walked toward them. Sesshomaru was still unable to figure out the reason behind Byakuya's actions and he looked toward Yoruichi for the answer but he noticed only sadness in her eyes as well.

"No, this can't happen, I can't fail to keep my promise to Hisane," Byakuya mumbled with immense sadness in a low voice while petal blades were floating freely all over the area. "I felt it as well Byakuya, Rukia's spiritual pressure is gone. That's why I told you that we are not your true enemies, we should have fought together against the Hollows," Yoruichi said to him in a consoling manner. "Only if I wouldn't be obliged by my duty as a Captain in the Gotei 13," he replied to her in a serious tone.

"Don't let this loss weaken you Byakuya, the Soul Society still needs you," Kisuke Urahara's voice echoed as he was coming from the Kuchiki Family Manor. "Kisuke, you are here too?" Yoruichi asked him. "Yes, I was doing some research on the records and decided to come out when I felt that she is gone," he replied to her. "This is not as straight and simple as you think, Kisuke Urahara. This is not just a loss of a family member but a failure to keep a promise, and a stain on my pride," Byakuya replied him.

"We can't change what has happened but we can make sure that it doesn't repeat and for that, all of us need to combine our strengths and save the remaining Shinigamis from this calamity," Yoruichi says while addressing all. "We will need your help as well, Sesshomaru," Urahara said to him. "Where are you going Byakuya, please listen to us," Yoruichi spoke as he turned around to walk away.

"You two are here, I must leave now in order to find Jaken and gather all the Yokais so that we can return to our world," Sesshomaru said to both Urahara and Yoruichi. "Wait Sesshomaru, I have something to tell you before you roam around in the Soul Society," Urahara said in a serious tone. "Hmm… what is it?" He asked. "As long as you are in our time, Head Captain will not stop seeking you no matter where you go, here in the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo or World of the Living and it is because such is the order of the Soul King, our creator," Urahara answered him and his words gained the attention of even Byakuya.

"What are you saying, Kisuke!" Yoruichi responded shockingly. "That's the truth Yoruichi-san, I have studied some of the related ancient records carefully. Soul King had forbidden any sort of contact with the demons at the moment Head Captain established the Soul Society and this law was not just for the Shinigamis but for the Hollows as well," he replied her.

"Hmm… but why Head Captain wants to kill Sesshomaru even though he didn't even know about the Soul Society and the Soul Reapers in the first place?" Yoruichi muttered confusingly. "Then what is he even doing here?" Byakuya asked her abruptly. "He was only looking for his sword which some Hollows stole from him, that's what I was trying to tell you since the beginning," Yoruichi replied to him.

"Hmm such a disgrace, Rukia lost her life because I was busy battling against the wrong person," Byakuya mumbled in a sad tone before leaving towards the area of Squad 13 to see Rukia one last time. Sesshomaru, Urahara, and Yoruichi heard him saying this and then they decided to split and eliminate the Hollows from the Soul Society before retreating to the World of the Living.

Border of the 1st Squad…

Isshin managed to wipe out almost all the Hollows in the area of his squad by fighting fiercely with his Shikai. Afterward, he decided to pursue the bizarre and powerful spiritual pressures which he had been sensing for a long time from the direction of the first squad. Soon enough they arrived close to the border of Squad 1 and now he was clearly able to sense three powerful Hollows. He immediately rushed towards them all alone.

When Isshin arrived there, he saw three strong Hollows. One of them was Yang, the subordinate of Orkos while the other two were Homura and Shizuku. Homura had spiked blonde hair with green eyes and she was in a pink-ragged kimono with a brighter pink, down-turned collar. She was also wearing a yellow cloth around her waist. On the other hand, Shizuku had shoulder-length black hair that was covering his right eye. He was quite lean and pale while he was wearing a white ragged kimono with a yellow belt around his waist. Both Homura and Shizuku were walking barefoot right behind Yang.

Isshin decided to attack them without wasting any moment but he was blocked by Yang while Homura's energy wave shoved him away on the ground. The last scene he witnessed before falling unconscious was Shizuku standing right behind him with his scythe about to slash him. Shizuku caressed the edge of his scythe and mumbled, "I am severing the memories of everyone in our path. Nobody will ever remember that we escaped the Soul Society."

Other Portions of the Soul Society…

The situation in the area of Squad 13 started to get back on track because Byakuya had reached there and he was ruthlessly killing every Hollow in his sight since he was affected by Rukia's death. Yoruichi and Soi Fon together had almost cleared the entire area of Squad 2 by now but the former had to leave in order to check on Isshin. After annihilating a significant number of Hollows in Squad 12, Kurotsuchi headed towards Sesshomaru as per the recently issued order from Genryusai Yamamoto. Squad 3 was also successfully controlled by Kira because his Captain Gin Ichimaru had returned from Hueco Mundo and he had started to exterminate the Hollows before the situation could have gotten worse. Besides, not much of the Hollows had left in Squad 5 to cause any serious disturbance after Aizen's return and thus Momo Hinamori was no longer facing tough times.

After wiping out almost all the Hollows in the area of Squad 1, Head Captain Genryusai Yamamoto himself came to the rescue of Squad 4. The situation in Squad 9 was still bad because it had faced the most damage among all the Squads. However, soldiers of other Squads had started to help them while its Captain Kaname Tosen was heading towards Sesshomaru upon getting the signal from Kurotsuchi. In Byakuya's absence, Renji was somehow taking care of the area of Squad 6 even though he was heavily affected by Rukia's death. Meanwhile, Squad 11 was pretty much at rest since they had already killed almost all the Hollows which invaded their area.

On the other hand, Sajin Komamura had left to pursue Sesshomaru after leaving everything in Tetsuzaemon Iba's hands upon receiving a secret message from Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Meanwhile, Kyoraku and Ukitake had successfully defended the grounds of Squad 8 and now they decided to track Genryusai Yamamoto so that they can interfere in the recently issued order regarding Sesshomaru. The soldiers of Squad 10 and Lieutenant Rangiku were suffering a terrible loss of morale due to the news of the loss of their Captain while the other squads had also refrained from providing them with any kind of support in this emergency. However, Sesshomaru reached there and destroyed almost all the Hollows present in that area which put Lieutenant Rangiku and the soldiers of that Squad in awe of his power.

After some time in the area of Squad 13…

Almost all the Hollows within the region had been wiped out by Byakuya and the soldiers of the 13th Squad by now except for a very few portions. Captain of Squad 13, Jushiro Ukitake wasn't around while the soldiers were simply trying to overcome the damage, helping the injured men, and finding the corpses of dead soldiers.

Rukia's corpse was lying on a stretcher, covered with a white sheet, and a pillow was kept beneath her head. Byakuya was on his knees beside the corpse while all the other soldiers were simply gathered all around and they seemed to be extremely saddened with their faces tilted downward. It was a heavy environment full of silence and sorrow and then all of a sudden the soldiers noticed that Renji Abarai was coming from behind. They shifted aside in order to provide him with the space to reach Byakuya. As soon as Renji's sight caught Rukia's lifeless body, tears began to roll down his eyes despite his best efforts to stop them.

"Captain…" Renji mumbled to Byakuya as he stood right next to him. "You came, Renji," he responded in a low voice. "I..I am sorry Captain, I came here without your permission," he said while trying to control his overwhelming emotions. It was almost as if he said it just to distract his own emotions because he wasn't able to say what he actually wanted to. "It's alright that you disobeyed me Renji, after all, it is because of my decision that Rukia is dead. If only I had permitted you to check on her," Byakuya spoke while closing his eyes out of immense grief. "None of us even imagined that we would lose her like this," Renji responded. Byakuya didn't say anything else and he simply lifted Rukia's lifeless body in his arms and began to walk towards the area of his Squad while Renji and some soldiers from the 13th Squad began to follow him. "You were the best little sister anyone can have in this world," he mumbled sadly with his sight fixed on her pale face.

On their way to the Kuchiki Family Manor, they noticed that Sesshomaru was standing some distance away from them. The soldiers of Squad 13 got intimidated by his presence while Renji was also alerted upon confronting him and all of them stopped walking but Byakuya on the other hand ignored him and continued to walk ahead.

"You were a worthy opponent Byakuya, it is very unfortunate that you have to go through this tragedy because of our battle," Sesshomaru said to him. "You…" Renji spoke in anger but couldn't say anything as Byakuya signaled him to stop. "Indeed it was the most unfortunate, even though the reason behind battling against you was inappropriate yet I admit that you were the toughest opponent I have ever faced," Byakuya replied, "but only if I would have known your intentions before arriving in the Soul Society from the beginning, we wouldn't have fought and perhaps, Rukia would have been alive now," he added. "It would be disappointing if the warrior inside of you weakens by the death of a girl," Sesshomaru responded. "What did you just say? A GIRL! You got some power so you think can speak whatever crap you like but you are not a God, you are just one hell of a demon who is good for nothing except to kill, so just shut your mouth otherwise…" Renji shouted at Sesshomaru with immense anger while holding the collar of his kimono but was eventually interrupted by Byakuya. "Silence Renji and let's go," Byakuya muttered to him in a scolding tone.

The moment they began to leave, Sesshomaru's Tensaiga began to pulsate all of a sudden which made him confused and he started to wonder about the will of his sword which was still inside its sheath. "Wait! Byakuya," Sesshomaru uttered abruptly. The moment he turned around upon listening to the call, the Daiyokai unsheathed his Tensaiga. "Bastard!" Renji hissed and took out his Zanpakuto. "Leave it Sesshomaru, it's not the time," Byakuya said in a serious tone. Soon enough everyone's eyes got widened with the shock when Sesshomaru swung his Tensaiga on Rukia.

For a few moments, silence prevailed in the surroundings neither Byakuya nor Renji was able to figure out what just happened while Sesshomaru on the other hand simply put his Tensaiga back into its sheath. The next moment, the silence was broken by a low and weak but familiar feminine voice, "Nii-Sama…"

Absolutely none including both Byakuya and Renji could have believed in their eyes for some time but soon both of them snapped out of shock when they heard Rukia's voice the second time as she asked about what happened to her. On the other hand, soldiers of Squad 13 who were present there began to gossip about Sesshomaru and what they just saw. "Who is he, some kind of God?" "How can he bring dead persons back to life?" "Is it some kind of sorcery or black magic?" "But according to the reports, he is a demon." "How can he save someone's life being a demon?" "Perhaps, he got several other powers." After a few moments of gossip, all those Shinigamis started to applaud Sesshomaru. They were shouting loudly while referring to him as Lord Sesshomaru while thanking and praising him for reviving Rukia Kuchiki. Byakuya and Renji also looked towards him but before they could have said anything, he flew away from there.

"He left but anyways, I will thank him properly the next time I would see him," Byakuya spoke in a comparatively soft tone as he noticed him flying away. On the other hand, Renji couldn't speak openly but in his heart, he decided to apologize to him in person. "Renji, take Rukia to the Squad 4 barracks for the check-up, I am going to see the situation in the area of our squad," Byakuya said to Renji after Rukia stood back on her feet. "I am fine Nii-Sama, don't worry about me, Squad 4 must be busy taking care of the injured men from the entire Seireitei," Rukia responded to him. "Hmm but don't skip it, have a check-up later on," Byakuya replied and then he began to retreat to his Squad's region. On the other hand, Renji began to follow him while Rukia preferred to stay there and wait for the arrival of her Captain.

To be continued…

Author's Note:

Hello, my dear readers, I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I am writing this particular Author's Note to inform you guys that the new characters "Homura and Shizuku" whom I have introduced in this chapter, are not going to have their original plot (from the Bleach movie – Fade to Black). However, their personality is going to be same as in that Bleach movie.

According to my story, Homura and Shizuku are powerful ancient Hollows who were created by Orkos at some point in the history with the help of some ancient power and technique which I will reveal in the later chapters of my story in order to avoid any spoiler. If you have any additional questions or doubts then please feel free to ask them through your reviews or comments, or PM, I will be looking forward to your valuable response.

Take care and stay tuned…