Moonfall

By Spunky0ne

(This is a story request for a RL friend. It will be along the same timeline as Inner Storm and a Bya/Ichigo/Bya, but has a unique storyline of two souls who take turns rescuing each other. It begins at the end of the Arrancar arc, and will probably have a timeskip at some point to the thousand year blood war, where Byakuya goes from watching over his human friend, to needing to be 'watched over.' Hope you enjoy it! Love, Spunky)

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Chapter 1: Hero's Welcome

"Nii-sama!" cried Rukia, running ahead of the group carrying the unconscious shinigami substitute, "Nii-sama, please come quickly!"

To her relief, Byakuya's flash step sounded immediately at the sound of her voice. The sixth division taichou appeared, wrapped heavily in bandages and undressed to his hakama, his eyes fierce and his reiatsu rising warningly.

"Rukia, are you all right?" he asked quickly.

"I am fine, Nii-sama," the girl assured him, "But Ichigo has collapsed after fighting Aizen Sousuke. Urahara-san has told us that he is beginning to lose his powers."

"What?" Byakuya asked, frowning in surprise.

Tears filled Rukia's eyes as her friends brought Ichigo's inert form forward and she began to explain.

"Urahara-san said that, to gain a power that could rival that of Aizen Sousuke, Ichigo would have to let go of his own powers. Only then, could he battle on Aizen's level and push him to the ends of his strength."

Byakuya felt a hard jolt inside at the realization of the choice that the young man had had to make. He gazed down at Ichigo's tormented face and found himself speechless for a moment.

"Nii-sama, what should we do?"

"How long?" Byakuya asked, "How long until he loses his powers?"

"W-we aren't sure exactly," Rukia confessed, "Urahara-san said that he will remain unconscious for a time, and then he will regain consciousness and his reiatsu will stabilize. His reiatsu will gradually destabilize, then he will fall unconscious again...and then he will awaken with no powers...no reiatsu at all. He said that he doesn't know whether it will be a few weeks, a few months...or a year. But Ichigo...Nii-sama, Ichigo is going to...!"

"Bring him inside," Byakuya said, regaining the calm in his voice, "Take him to our healers."

"But you're not finished being healed!" Rukia objected.

"I am fine. Go on. He needs to be seen to right away."

Byakuya watched as the group of Ichigo's friends hurried along the wooden walkway, carrying Ichigo off to be healed. A flash step sounded, and a younger noble with wide, concerned, sapphire eyes appeared beside him.

"Is Rukia-chan all right?" the young man asked.

"Her injuries have been seen to," Byakuya assured him, "Our healers will be caring for Kurosaki Ichigo here until such time as he is well enough to go home."

"I will inform the rest of the security staff," said the young man, "And now, let me take you back to the healers, please."

"They will be occupied with Ichigo."

"Then, come into your room and I will heal you myself."

"That is not necessary, Tetsuya. I am..."

"Nonsense. You were badly injured in Hueco Mundo. I am not taking 'no' for an answer, Cousin."

"Sometimes you are very stubborn," Byakuya sighed, "But, very well. Just, I want to be kept apprised of Ichigo's condition."

Tetsuya looked back at him curiously for a moment.

"The boy just saved Karakura Town from being destroyed, and he protected our king from being attacked, when the Gotei 13's taichous could not. We owe him for that. As leader of the greatest of the noble clans, I see it as my duty to take care of him as he heals...on behalf of our king. So as to show our gratitude."

"Of course," Tetsuya agreed, looking somewhat amused, "It just sounded odd, you speaking of him that way. You usually...erm...strongly encourage him to return to the living world as soon as possible."

"Well, that is not the right thing to do anymore. The boy deserves our respect for what he did...for what he sacrificed."

"What he sacrificed?" Tetsuya repeated questioningly.

Byakuya met Tetsuya's eyes with an unusually sad expression.

"To gain the power he needed to fight at Aizen's level, he chose to let go of his shinigami powers."

"What?" Tetsuya gasped, his eyes widening, "He...!"

"He let go of everything so that Karakura Town would be protected, so that Soul Society would not fall, and so that Aizen would not reach the king."

"So now...?"

"He has lost consciousness. When he wakes, his reiatsu will stabilize for a time. But eventually, he will fall unconscious again. And when he wakes, he will have lost his powers completely. This is what Urahara Kisuke told Rukia and the others."

"Kami," Tetsuya breathed softly, "That was a very courageous thing he did."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, his dark eyes clouding, "But then, there is no length to which that boy will not go for his friends. He is undisciplined...relentless...reckless. But in this matter, it took all of that to save all of us."

Byakuya went silent again, looking somberly in the direction that Ichigo had been taken. Tetsuya followed his gaze and touched his arm lightly in askance.

"Will you come with me now and let me finish your healing, Byakuya-sama?"

"Very well," the clan leader said softly, closing his eyes against the dark feelings and turning to follow his cousin.

They walked back to Byakuya's bedroom, and the clan leader sat down on the bed. The interior bedroom door opened and Byakuya's attendant entered, carrying a tray of hot green tea, hot water and extra bandages.

"Ah, Byakuya-sama," he said, bowing, "The healers said you had come this way, and to make sure that we finish healing you properly, sir."

"Thank you, Torio," Byakuya said, leaning back against a pile of soft pillows and keeping his eyes closed as Tetsuya removed his sword from its place at his hip, then slid onto the bed and began to address the lingering hurts on his cousin's pale body.

"So," Tetsuya said conversationally, "How did the battles in Hueco Mundo go?"

"Hmmm," Byakuya sighed sleepily, "We won. The Espadas lost. We came home alive. I suppose the battles went well, then."

Tetsuya leaned closer, studying the wounds as he healed them, and reading the reiatsu around them.

"Interesting," he commented.

"What?"

"Oh," said Tetsuya, "I couldn't help but notice that the reiatsu around many of your wounds was not hollow, but shinigami. Zaraki Kenpachi, I believe?"

"Yes," Byakuya answered, arching a fine eyebrow, "He questioned my abilities, so I gave him a demonstration, so there would be no doubt as to my strength and the cut of my sword. The zero Espada kept interrupting us until we killed him. Then, the garganta hadn't opened and we had some extra time, so we engaged in full strength sparring for the rest of the time."

"I see," Tetsuya chuckled, shaking his head, "You and Zaraki Kenpachi...if it's not one thing, it is another."

"The man is a barbarian. He has no manners."

"So you feel it is your task to teach him some?" Tetsuya sighed.

"If necessary, yes."

Byakuya gazed out into the gardens, his eyes dark and solemn.

"Though, in truth, it was a relief to focus on him and not to think too much about how we were trapped there, waiting to know whether we would be coming home...or waiting for Aizen to come back and deal with us, one by one, as he planned to."

"But you had confidence in Ichigo," Tetsuya insisted, "I know you did. You put a lot of faith in him. So, it wasn't that which afflicted your mind so much, was it?"

"Ah...in truth, no," Byakuya confessed, lowering his eyes again, "I had a deeper concern. You see, as much as I believed that Ichigo would win, I wondered what the gaining of such power would cost him. And now, we know that the price was terrible. Tetsuya, to think of him, not just losing his powers, but ending all contact between us and him."

"But you've said so many times that he is of that other world and doesn't belong here...not yet."

"And yet, he fought so hard that he earned a place of honor among us. But now, to return to the human world, to be blinded to that which he now sees...to know that there are those who need his protection and he cannot answer the call...that is a horrid fate...for anyone, but especially for him, after all he has done for us."

"I agree," Tetsuya said softly, straightening as he finished the healing, then bending to wash his hands in the basin of hot water beside the bed, "Yet, what can we do?"

"I do not know," Byakuya sighed, "But, while he is healing, we will care for him. And while his powers remain, Rukia and his friends will comfort him. And if we find that there is nothing that we can do for him, and in the end, his powers are truly gone, then we will still watch over him...even when he cannot see we are there."

Byakuya stood and walked into the dressing area, where Torio undressed him, then dressed him in a comfortable yukata. Tetsuya took his leave of the two to return to guard duty and Torio cleared away the water basin and stray bandages. He bowed respectfully and left the clan leader resting quietly on his bed, looking out into the calm gardens. But looking out into them didn't seem to steal away his building melancholy, and soon he was on his feet and slipping out into the cool grass, taking in the pretty evening fragrances and battling a still turbulent heart.

"It's terrible what's going to happen to him," he heard Orihime say in a hushed, sad tone, from where she sat in Ichigo's room with their friends.

"But what can we do?" said Chad, "There isn't anything."

"Not yet," Rukia sighed, "But Urahara-san is not going to give up. He is a very talented scientist. If anyone can find a way to stop this, he can."

As much as the man annoyed Byakuya, the noble had to admit that what Rukia said was true.

"I just wish that there was something we could do to help," Uryuu said, shifting restlessly, "All of this standing around and waiting for the worst to happen is just..."

"And if it is bad for us, then imagine how it will be for Ichigo," Rukia said, closing her eyes against the thought.

"Well, he's going to be all right," said Renji, "He's really strong, He'll handle things."

"I know," said Orihime, "But it's so sad!"

The group looked up as a healer entered the room and bid them good evening.

"I am going to make him comfortable for the night. The staff has made up rooms for all of you."

"But...I just...can't leave him!" sobbed Orihime, "What if he wakes up and he's all alone?"

"She is right," said Rukia, "We can't leave Ichigo alone like this. He will be disoriented if he wakes up."

The healer regarded them kindly.

"Very well. I understand. I will have bedding brought into the room for you."

Byakuya turned away and walked out the back gate, turning onto the cool, dark forest path that he frequented when he needed to think. He mulled over the fights in Hueco Mundo, the progression of the conflict, and kept coming back to his own cruel words. He knew that he had had to say them to ensure that Ichigo returned to the living world quickly, but given the way things had played out, his heart ached to think of them now.

"A Gotei 13 taichou does not need help from the likes of you."

"B-byakuya..."

"Go on. Hurry to the living world, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"But...?"

"What is your duty? It is to protect that town. You are their shinigami substitute. Go now, Kurosaki Ichigo!"

He was, of course, used to being cold like that. But sometimes such coldness became a burden. The weight increased, even with his feet walking that calm, quiet pathway, even with the gentle, sweet scents all around him, and the peaceful evening sounds. Even when he reached the splashing waterfall and looked up at the bright moon, his heart felt heavy, knowing...

It isn't right.

That such a burden should have fallen on you, Kurosaki Ichigo. You were only a shinigami substitute, and yet, you sacrificed more than any of us.

We owe you for that.

I owe you for that.

But there is no proper way to thank you. And there is no way that we know to save you from your fate. I am sorry. I have nothing to offer you.

He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply, then let his breath out and tried to let his heavy feelings seep out. They clung to him stubbornly and refused to let go until he found something to do...no matter how small. In the end, he did think of one thing he could do. The idea sent him back along the trail he had taken, through the forest and back into the gardens.

The house had gone quiet and all of Ichigo's friends were sleeping soundly when he returned. Byakuya stepped silently into Ichigo's room and touched each sleeping friend lightly, infusing them with a throb of calming reiatsu so they would remain asleep. He turned back to the sleeping shinigami substitute and gathered him carefully into his arms. Ichigo made no move, nor sound as he was lifted and carried out of the room, across the gardens, down the dark forest trail, and out to the waterfall, where the noble had been standing under the moon.

Byakuya flash stepped over the cliff, next to the waterfall, hitting the touch points one by one until he spotted a small landing the led to a trail which went back under the waterfall, and behind it. Hidden in that place, was a small cave that was partly taken up by a natural hot spring. Byakuya carried Ichigo into the cave, undressed the two of them and sank the shinigami substitute's limp body into the water, using his own body to elevate the younger man's head and shoulders. As the water bubbled briskly around them, Ichigo sighed in his sleep and his hands clung lightly to Byakuya. The noble continued to hold him in the water, seating himself on the stone bench and looking down at Ichigo's face, breathing a sigh of relief that after a few minutes of soaking and infusions of healing reiatsu, he did look more content.

As Ichgio laid silently in Byakuya's arms, surrounded in the piping hot, bubbly water and held comfortingly, he heard the noble's deep voice, and he wondered if what he heard could be real.

Again, I owe you my thanks, Kurosaki Ichigo. For not only did you save your friend, you helped to keep Rukia alive and safe, and you protected not only Karakura Town, as is your duty...you took on ours as well. I am ashamed that we were not able to control and stop Aizen Sousuke. He was one of us, and should not have been your burden to bear. The strength of the taichous of the Gotei 13 should have been strong enough to stop him. It is a great dishonor, not having been strong enough to keep him from seeing to his plans. It is because of us that you had to fight him alone. And it is because of our failures that you had to sacrifice so much to defeat him. But even knowing that, you accepted the sacrifice with grace and courage. You knew it was the right thing to do, even though it must be unbearably painful to think of what will happen now. I am sorry. I wish that there was something I could do. If I could switch places and be the one sacrificed, I would gladly take that step. It is wrong that you should face such a wicked fate, after what you have done.

Ichigo loosed a very soft groan and Byakuya's voice went silent. Then, the shinigami substitute's brown eyes cracked slightly open and tried to focus on the person leaning over him and holding him in the warm, comforting water.

"Ichigo," Byakuya whispered, looking into his nearly senseless eyes.

""D-don't..." Ichigo mumbled weakly, "Don't s-say that."

Byakuya leaned forward, frowning and straining to hear as Ichigo said something unintelligible, then his hand clenched Byakuya's arm.

"N-not your fault...I...I'm okay."

Byakuya lowered his head, sadness flooding his eyes as Ichigo continued to struggle to speak.

"Don't try to talk," he said, reaching to brush his eyes closed and preparing to use kido to send him off to sleep again.

But the shinigami substitute shifted suddenly in his arms, catching him off balance and making him have to lean very close to hold on to him. Ichigo's arm curled around the noble's neck and pulled him down the rest of the way, and before the stunned noble could move or speak, Ichigo's lips brushed against his, and a flicker of reiatsu caused a sharp wind to shoot through the cave. Byakuya froze, his lips against Ichigo's and his eyes locked on the younger man's feverish ones. Ichigo's hand tightened where it held him, and the shinigami substitute gave the reeling taichou the shock of his life with his next words.

"What a beautiful dream," he whispered against Byakuya's lips, "It'll be a shame to wake up. You're really...s-something...Kuchiki Byakuya!"

Byakuya loosed the flicker of reiatsu and subdued the waking shinigami substitute, then lifted his senseless body out of the water. He dried and dressed them, then carried Ichigo back up the cliff, down the forest trail, and back into the gardens. He laid the young man carefully in his bed and tucked him in warmly.

"You are a fool, Kurosaki Ichigo, to entertain such ideas. Go to sleep now."

But even after retiring to his room and lying down again, it took a very long time for Byakuya to fall asleep. And all night long, he continued to feel as though Ichigo's warm, rough lips repeatedly returned to feed on his.

What is wrong with me?

Why can't I stop thinking about this?