Become A Ghost

Become A Ghost, Chapter Twenty-Six

Byakuya was beginning to experience the first inkling of what he suspected might be despair. It seemed familiar; he thought he recognized it from when Hisana had died. He was covered in gashes, had been impaled through his left shoulder, and had lost a lot of blood; his thinking was slowing down and his movement was sluggish. It was, to be truthful, a miracle he had not yet succumbed to the two-pronged assault by the Espada, and he knew he would not last much longer. 

Deep shame lodged in his belly at the knowledge that he could not take at least one of them with him. In all honesty, he would have been hard-pressed to defeat even one; with both of them worrying at him like a pack of wolves on a dying stag, he had no chance at all. 

There was a flash of white in the corner of his eye, but he could not afford to deviate his attention even for a fraction of a second from the onslaught he fought against. Then he heard yelling; it appeared a newcomer had arrived, and was trying to get the attention of Byakuya's attackers. There was too much of a roaring in his ears, he couldn't make out the words that were shouted...

...but then, between one heartbeat and another, the Espada left off their assault. They simply stopped where they were; Grimmjow lowered his sword, Halibel let the cero at the tip of her blade disperse. Byakuya lowered Senbonzakura, needing to rest his weary arm. 

"What's this?" he asked them, surprised at how he had to labor to push the words out. This reprieve, whatever its reason, had come just in time. 

"Aizen-sama has commanded us to stop our attack. You are to be escorted to a ruins some kilometers from here and exchanged for another prisoner," Halibel informed him. If her tone of voice was any indication, she could not have cared less about this new transaction. Grimmjow just looked frustrated at being thwarted in his swordplay again. 

"Exchanged for whom?" Baykuya asked. Exhaustion forced him to trust that they would not attack him again, and he let his sword seal itself with a silent thanks to the zanpakutou's hard and stalwart work in helping him.

But she had no answer for him. "Follow me," was all she said, and shot off in a clap of Sonido, leaving him to trail after her with Grimmjow and the other, less powerful Arrancar bringing up the rear. 

As they traveled, Byakuya had a thought that broke upon him like a wave in a storm, and knew with awful certainty that he was correct: the person to be traded for him was Orihime. Dread and anger and terror rose up to choke up, and he actually faltered in his next flash-step before Grimmjow shot by him with a derisive smirk. He was grateful for his sense of pride, then, because it was the only thing keeping him upright and moving forward. He only prayed that the demon-cat Shihouin Yoruichi never learned of this pitifully slow pace he held. 

If, by some miracle, they both managed to survive this, Byakuya was going to murder Orihime. And by 'murder', of course, he meant wrap her in silk velvet and lock her in a beautifully appointed room and never let her go anywhere she could get hurt, or in trouble, ever again. 

Informing Ichigo, Renji, Shinji, Momo, and Iba that she and Nemu were in Hueco Mundo went poorly. Orihime's brain was still burning from the stream of cuss words thought by Ichigo and Renji, Nemu having linked everyone up for ease of communication.

Nemu interrupted their tirade and informed them of the meeting place, then severed the connection mid-expletive. Orihime felt tired, and did not scruple to drop her head to Nemu's back to close her eyes for a moment. She thought back to those precious few hours she'd had with Byakuya after the party, when she'd been uninhibited enough by sake to express her growing affection.

She could almost still feel the strength of his arm around her waist as they walked home from the party, the heat of his body under hers as they lay beneath the stars, the press of his lips against her forehead, the faint salt of his throat when she'd dared to touch the tip of her tongue to his skin.