Noble Love - Bleach (Kuchiki Byakuya x Oc x A bit of Various)

四十一

"Dai san-ji, Owaru. (Third Stage, End)." At the command, the blood on the Zanpakutou solidified into thorny vines rapidly growing around the weapon as they made their way towards her Reigai counterpart. It happened so fast that the latter wasn't able to release her Zanpakutou, for the vines had already trapped it before they grew further until they brutally grew through her body.

The Reigai had blood trickled from the corner of her lips, but despite that, she smiled at her real counterpart and said, "You're strong. I'm glad to know that you're able to continue fighting." Her body soon turned into that of a doll and it disintegrated into dust, leaving only the clothes and a red pill behind.

The illusions then disappeared and everything returned to normal, as well as the heavily injured Asa, who was catching her breath while on her hands and knees. Although she had won, things could be said differently about her body. The illusionary poisoning took place quicker than usual, as she felt a throbbing pain in her head and was facing shortness of breath. As if that wasn't enough, she was losing a lot of blood, especially after pulling that last move. But she couldn't just find a hiding spot and rest up. She needed to join Byakuya in their sole mission - to find Inaba Kageroza and exterminate him before the problem could become worse. Mustering her remaining strength, she got on her two feet and made her way towards where she last saw Byakuya.

"Gokei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." The injured Byakuya was holding the Reigai-Hitsugaya's blade with blood seeping from the injury, as the petals formed around them in a sphere, leaving the Reigai no room for escape. The sphere then imploded, destroying the surrounding area, and a plume of smoke rose into the air. As the explosion receded, the Reigai was gone, and a red pill clattered to the ground. "There is one thing I share with you." he said while staring at his wounded hand. "I will use any means to protect my pride."

Before he took a step forward, he picked up a weak reaitsu from behind, prompting him to snap to face to person, and to his horror, an injured Asa was walking towards him. She had deep gashes across her chest, on her waist and shoulders, and blood was oozing out of the wound on her left hand. He took note of her agonising expression and realised that she'd used her Bankai. Just like him, she was in a mess, but the only difference was that the illusionary poisoning was taking a toll on her.

"Asa!" he called before using Flash Step to reach her, and at that moment, her knees buckled. He managed to catch her in time, with one arm wrapped around her waist while allowing her upper body to fall into his chest, preventing her from hitting the ground.

The said woman weakly tilted her head up and the first thing she saw was his worried expression. "Byakuya." she rasped with relief, which immediately faltered when she saw his condition. "You're injured."

"Don't use your healing Kidou on me." he instructed. "Save your reiatsu for later. You need it more than me." When he helped her to stand on her feet, he crouched low and gave her a piggy-back ride, causing her face to flush.

"O-Okay." she responded, giving in because she knew it was pointless to argue with him. With each step he took, blood continued to drip onto the ground, not sure which they belong to. However, he suddenly stopped, which prompted Asa to peep over his shoulder. She let out a soft gasp when they found their path blocked by his Reigai counterpart.

"I knew we would face one another in battle sooner or later." he said.

"You're wounded." noted the Reigai.

"Not an issue." he assured.

"I suppose not." agreed the Reigai. "I would never run, no matter what my situation."

Byakuya glanced at Asa for a short while before crouching low enough for her to get down. "Byakuya." she called with concern.

"I'm going on ahead." he said while facing the Reigai with his thumb unsheathing his Zanpakutou. "Step back from this, Asa." As if he knew that she would question him next, he added, "You won't have enough reiatsu to fight Kageroza. It's best you use your remaining strength to look for your grandfather and stay with him."