"Wh... What is that?" Byakuya asked, though while he was sweating from the reiatsu that Sombra was putting out, verifying that he had crossed over the threshold into the world of a Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar, he was staring at the armor that had replaced the grey Shinigami clothing his opponent was wearing, "Are you telling me that this, too, is a Bankai?"
"Isamashii Hogosha Shoteikoku, or Valiant Guardian of the Crystal Empire, is what this technique is known as," Sombra replied, though he couldn't fault Byakuya for not believing that this was a Bankai, especially since he had problems with Tensa Zangetsu being a Bankai a few minutes ago, "and yes, this is Shokyo's final release... this is her Bankai, a technique that she has bestowed upon me for a battle further in the future."
"I see. So you, too, like to trample on our pride." Byakuya stated, to which the petals of Senbonzakura gathered around him, like they had done when Ichigo showed off his Bankai, and he zeroed in on his target, who appeared to be patiently waiting for someone to make the first move, which would cost him, "Very well then. I shall carve into your body, as well as Ichigo Kurosaki's body, the retribution that you both shall receive for injuring our pride."
"I accept your challenge." Sombra said, but at the same time he made no move to disappear from the area that he was standing in, though he did turn towards Ichigo for a moment and beckoned to him with his head, "Ichigo, you may want to move behind me for a few seconds, just to keep yourself out of what's coming next."
Ichigo had no idea what Sombra meant, even though there were times that the Arrancar seemed even smarter about things than he was, and quickly flashed behind his armored friend, though in the following seconds Byakuya sent the petals of his Bankai at them and he watched as they rapidly moved through the air and reached for them. As that happened Sombra raised his empty left hand until it was level with the mass of petals that were coming towards them, but not a few seconds later Ichigo watched as a blue dome shaped barrier phased into existence around them and all of the petals were forced to move around them, not even coming close to touching them. When the last of the petals flew by them Sombra lowered his hand and the barrier faded away like it had never been there to begin with, and, from what was around them, Ichigo noticed that there wasn't even a trace that the barrier had formed around them in the first place. It was a defensive move, that must Ichigo was sure of, but he had to wonder if Shokyo's Bankai had given Sombra a number of defensive abilities to go with the number of offensive moves that he could already perform... but, even as he thought about that, he had to wonder if he might be wrong, since both of their Bankai were different from the others.
Byakuya, on the other hand, looked shocked that this even happened, as if he was expecting to catch them with his Bankai and strike them down while they weren't moving, but at the very least Ichigo knew that this was only the start of them turning the battle around, even though Sombra likely could have beaten Byakuya on his own.
"What... was that technique?" Byakuya asked, as there wasn't any sort of barrier type ability, save for the Kido that were designed to protect the Shinigami that used them, that could have stopped all of his Senbonzakura petals and still emerge with the barrier intact, meaning that this had to be an ability of Sombra's Bankai, even though he loathed to consider such a thing in the same category as his Bankai.
"It's one of the defensive skills that Shokyo taught me earlier," Sombra replied, remembering all the training that he and Shokyo had done so he could wield this power, though there was one key difference in his Bankai from the Bankai that Renji and Ichigo were using, "it's an ability that allows me to generate a shield barrier around me, and whoever is near me, that will protect both myself and those I wish to protect from damage. Now, before one of you complains that such a thing is unfair, allow me to clarify that it's not a perfect barrier that comes into play whenever I want, because it needs me to activate it and I could miss the opportunity to use it if I was caught off guard, say from a attack from behind that I'm not even aware of. There's also the fact that this Bankai isn't a defensive type, rather it contains offensive, defensive, and support type skills, though it all depends on the situation that I'm in and what I need at that very moment... here, allow me to demonstrate one of the offensive skills I was taught."
Byakuya watched as Sombra held his Zanpakuto off to the side for a moment, his eyes following the movement in case there was something else going on that he needed to be aware of, and noticed that the blade was glowing, instantly reminding him of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. Not a few seconds later Sombra swung his Zanpakuto and a brilliant blue colored wave of energy, slightly different looking from the attack that Ichigo had used, in the sense that it was half the size of the other attack and moved much faster than it, but Byakuya wasn't going to allow it to hit him as the petals of Senbonzakura formed around him and really concentrated in front of him. What he wasn't expecting was for the force of the attack to be stronger than Ichigo's, something he should have seen coming since he was a Vasto Lorde and Ichigo would have been around an early Aduchas in terms of power, but he was able to escape the petals as the attack blew a small hole in the ground where he had been standing. That was seconds before he noticed that Sombra had vanished from where he was standing and immediately turned around as he felt something touch his back, expecting the Arrancar to be standing behind him, only to find that he was mistaken about what he thought was behind him, as he had bumped into a crystalline wall that hadn't been there a few seconds ago. A few seconds later, however, he felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped forward immediately, just in case an attack was coming his way, though when he landed he turned around and found Sombra standing where he had been with a smile on his face.
He knew that he was in trouble, as while he could deal with the fact that he had momentarily lost Ichigo, when the Human had flashed in front of him and held Zangetsu to his throat, he also realized that Sombra's Bankai had increased his speed and power, once again making sense considering he was a Vasto Lorde now, and some other attributes that would make it harder to hit him. Before he had a chance to do anything Sombra moved his right arm and positioned Shokyo against the ground that was near him, which was followed by his reiatsu flowing into the ground for a moment, where Byakuya felt the ground shake for a few seconds before several parts of it broke open. What he found was crystal spikes, about the thickness of a person and colored the same brilliant blue that he recognized, that erupted from the ground and reached for him, causing him to weave his way through the area and avoid the spikes that the Arrancar had summoned with one of his techniques. The interesting part was that the crystals only appeared around the area that Sombra was in, as Ichigo wasn't affected by the attack, but even then he had to be careful and avoid the spikes, even though one of them grazed his left leg, dropping some bits of blood on the ground as he reached an area outside the zone that the crystals were in... only for the two opponents to get outside the zone as well and stare at him, indicating that they were ready for the next round of the battle as they wore him down.
"Why did you not strike me down when you had the chance?" Byakuya inquired, as he knew that Sombra almost never made mistakes, because after his defeat in the World of the Living he had noticed an improvement in how the Arrancar conducted himself in battle, so much so that every wound had it's place and so did every slash, or maybe he was just overthinking things at the moment, "Why did your friend remove the tip of his blade from my throat? Are you that confident in your victory that you would willingly destroy the key to your own victory? If that's the case, then I'll say this once and be done with it: what the two of you possess are not Bankai, as it is impossible for such a small blade and a suit of armor to even be considered such a thing. It is impossible for a mere Ryoka to achieve the final release of a Zanpakuto, much like how it's impossible for an Arrancar to acquire a Zanpakuto and reach this point. You both will regret not ending me with your attacks, because miracles only happen once... and for the two of you a second one will never be possible."
What happened next, before Sombra could answer the questions that Byakuya had asked them, was Byakuya sending out the petals that had been gathering behind him once more, though this time they did what they did earlier, half of them went after Ichigo and the other half went after him. Instead of even trying to attack Byakuya, as he wanted to study their enemy's Bankai in action, Sombra spent the next few moments running around the area that they were in, using his mastery of Shunpo to flash around as he searched for weaknesses in how the petals moved in this state and how they could be controlled. At the same time Ichigo flashed through the area, avoiding the mass of petals that were chasing him as he tried to get in front of Byakuya, who used some more petals to guard himself, before he was forced backwards and had to continue running to avoid being hit. Sombra noticed that Byakuya, and Senbonzakura since the Shinigami was controlling his Bankai through sight by the looks of it, was having a hard time trying to catch Ichigo as he started to flash around the area and run from the point he had landed at, keeping their opponent confused... before he started doing that at an increased speed that it looked like there were a large number of Ichigo's running around the area.
"What's wrong? Can't keep up?" Ichigo taunted, causing Sombra to sigh for a moment, as he knew that this was going to change how Byakuya fought in their battle, which might make it harder or easier depending on what Byakuya did next in regards to the fight, "And here I can still go a little faster!"
"Don't get too cocky, brat!" Byakuya snapped, to which he raised his left arm and swung towards Ichigo, where Sombra discovered that by using his arm the speed of Senbonzakura's petals increased, meaning that, even when he was using his Bankai, Byakuya was still underestimating them by using a lower percentage of his power, all while forcing Ichigo to keep on the move once more.
Byakuya forced Ichigo to run around the area, drawing the petals away from Sombra once more, another bad idea considering all the damage he's already done to the Captain, and chased Ichigo around for a few moments, before finally surrounding him in the sky with little that could go wrong... though while Sombra stayed back, however, Ichigo responded by swinging his Zanpakuto around and knocked all the petals away from him, shocking Byakuya even more, before he disappeared once more.
"There's only one miracle, right?" Ichigo asked, as he had flashed behind Byakuya while he was still shocked about him defeating the petals that had rushed forward to attack him, though at the same time their opponent started to turn around so he could look at him, "Then what's the second one?"
In the following moment Ichigo drove his blade straight towards Byakuya's chest, though in reality the only thing he entered up cutting was the left side of Byakuya's body, while his left hand held onto Zangetsu's blade as blood dripped onto the ground beneath their feet. At the same time, however, Sombra was able to figure out part of Ichigo's Bankai, as it appeared that he was condensing all of his power into the smaller blade, making it possible for him to move while using the full power of his Bankai, and, based in the look in Byakuya's eyes, he could tell that their opponent had figured the same thing out as well.
"Very well then, Ichigo Kurosaki, I shall crush your Bankai's power with my own power." Byakuya stated, though as he said that he glanced over at Sombra, whose Bankai he knew next to nothing about since he was still focusing on his current target, but he was considering his options at the moment and they didn't look that great.
"You know, speaking of power, that reminds me," Ichigo said, to which he turned towards Sombra, who had flashed into the area near them and was standing inside the oddly circular shaped area that they were now standing in, though he had a frown on his face, "What gives Sombra? You liked my Getsuga Tensho so much that you ripped it off?"
"It came with all the techniques that Shokyo taught me, even though its definitely different from your attack," Sombra replied, as he was a little surprised that Ichigo was so ticked off that one of his attacks looked like the Getsuga Tensho that he had fired off, "If you really have a problem with that, they why don't I ask Shokyo to come out and talk with you for a few minutes while I take care of Byakuya? I'm sure she'd love to tell you why Seiga, my Energy Fang, is different from your Getsuga Tensho... as well as tell you about Hatakesho, my Field of Crystal technique, Shukan, the Guard's Barrier I used earlier, and all the other techniques she taught me earlier."
"And another thing, what's up with your Bankai having offensive, defensive, and support abilities?" Ichigo inquired, but as he did that Sombra could tell that Byakuya was suddenly feeling like the odd person in this conversation, especially since he was holding onto Ichigo's blade at the moment, "Don't you think that's a little overpowered? Especially when you consider the fact that your reiatsu is even greater than mine, you know a lot more techniques than I know, and just you releasing your Bankai has made mostly everyone, in the immediate area of the hill, scared of you."
"Again, you can blame Shokyo if you have a problem with my Bankai," Sombra stated, though at the same time he honestly had no idea why they were talking about this at the moment, as they could easily discuss this once they were done fighting with Byakuya and had fled the area, before he turned towards their opponent and tapped Byakuya's chest with his left hand, "but I suggest we do that later... for now we should focus our efforts on beating our opponent and getting out of here before the other Captains arrive as backup."
Byakuya, worried that the gesture was going to do something, released the blade that he had been holding onto and jumped backwards, dropping several drops of blood on the ground in the process, but when he touched the ground a few seconds later, and found that nothing had happened, he grew serious as he focused his own reiatsu.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, Sombra, you should watch what happens next," Byakuya said, as he had decided to bring an end to this battle before it went any further, especially since he had no idea what else Sombra might have learned during his training with his Zanpakuto, to which the drops of blood that he left behind glowed before turning pink and disappearing into the petals around them, which took on the appearance of flames.
Ichigo and Sombra stood there, with their weapons at the ready, as they observed what was going on, as the flames were something they weren't expecting, and noticed that the flames only spread out until they forced a perfect circle around all three of them, giving them a large area to fight in. That was before the flames reached into the sky and started to form a dome above their heads, a pink one from the looks of it, though that was before the coloration of the dome faded away and left them with a much darker dome that clearly separated them from the outside world. Sombra looked around with some interest, as he never expected a Bankai to have multiple stages, because Yoruichi never mentioned anything about that, before turning his attention back to Byakuya as their opponent began to inform them about the nature of this technique.
"This abandons defense and gives it's all to killing the enemy... this is the true form of Senbonzakura." Byakuya stated, to which four vertical rows of glowing blades, all looking like the sealed form of his Zanpakuto, formed around the edge of the dome that had formed around them, though while Ichigo was shocked by this turn of events Sombra was more than pleased to see a change, as this would make things more interesting, "Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. Don't worry, these thousand blades will not attack you all at once. I swore that I would kill the two of you with my own hands, and I will use this Senkei to cut through the both of you. You should feel honored, you are the second and the third person to have ever seen me use this technique... and you will both die from it."
"We'll see about that," Ichigo commented, to which both he and Sombra readied themselves, as they knew that Byakuya would be coming at them with the full power of his Bankai, though as they observed him he held out both his hands and two blades removed themselves from where they had been resting, where they flew down and the grabbed them, removing the glow as his reiatsu visually gathered around him... something that the two of them mimicked, though light blue for Ichigo and brilliant blue for Sombra, opposed to Byakuya's pink reiatsu.
For a few moments none of them moved, simply standing their ground and letting their reiatsu gather around them like they were doing, even breaking the ground around their feet, or hooves, as they did so, though the moment Byakuya moved both Ichigo and Sombra followed suit, charging forward as their opponent did the same thing. Not a few moments later the three of them collided in the middle of the Senkei, though while the ground and air shook a little when Ichigo's blade collided with Byakuya's, no doubt shaking the area around the cage, the ground shattered and the air shuddered as Sombra struck the second blade and pushed against Byakuya's power. It was clear, from the first clash that they had, that Byakuya was already concerned about his chances against Sombra, as he seemed confident when he looked at Ichigo and that vanished when he looked over at Sombra, but that didn't stop them from attacking the enemy Captain, who was clearly trying to hold his own against his opponents. Of course one of the things that they did was take turns attacking Byakuya, as Ichigo would attack first and strike out several times in a row, causing the air to shudder in response to what he was doing as his Zanpakuto as the ground cracked as well, before jumping out of the way as Sombra moved in to continue the assault, but what made his attacks different is that he often switched to kicking out with one of his legs to parry an attack or using his hand to grab onto one of Byakuya's created blades to open a weakness, which only caused him to back away in the process.
Of course there were times where Sombra raised his left arm to intercept a blow and Byakuya found a shield made of crystal, colored with the same silver color that the Arrancar's armor possessed with the same emblem on it's face, that Sombra used to block the attack that was coming his way and stopped the attack in it's tracks, before he bashed the blade backwards and cut a light gash into either Byakuya's arm, one of his legs, or his chest. When it was time for Ichigo to battle, however, it didn't appear that he was actually doing anything other than clashing with their opponent and getting cut in the process, as his speed seemed to be slowing down ever so slightly as the battle progressed and Byakuya took advantage of that, so he could bring an end to one opponent and focus on his true enemy. As that happened Sombra wondered if some of his earlier thoughts had been correct, that Ichigo might be suffering from his Bankai's intense power being condensed in this manner, but at the same time it didn't appear that his friend was willing to talk with him at the moment and that meant that he was going to have to wait and see what happened next. Eventually Sombra paused and watched the two of them battle for a moment, as he was studying the situation, and observed as Ichigo and Byakuya clashed once more... only for Byakuya to cut Ichigo as the two of them pulled away from each other and paused, as now it appeared that fighting two opponents at the same time was wearing Byakuya down quickly and Ichigo's wounds, from both Zangetsu and Byakuya, did the same thing.
At that point both of them seemed to pause for a moment, as Ichigo was no doubt wondering why he was suddenly slowing down, or maybe his friend thought that Byakuya was suddenly increasing his speed once more, but Sombra prepared himself, as he knew that the battle between them was going to be over soon enough. Of course that changed when Byakuya flashed in front of Ichigo, not even being able to see it coming, and nearly took Ichigo's right eye as he pulled himself to the side, earning a gash on the side of his cheek, and then Byakuya flashed around a few times to confuse Ichigo before their blades clashed again.
"What's wrong?" Byakuya asked, as now that Ichigo seemed to be slowing down he had a much better chance at finishing him off, as he needed to conserve the majority of his energy for the battle with Sombra, who was already getting ready for the next part of the battle to come, "Your movements have become rather slow, Ichigo Kurosaki, to the point where they're the polar opposite of Sombra's intense speed."
"Really?" Ichigo said, his voice revealing that he had noticed the difference in his speed and Byakuya's speed, though Sombra could tell that he was thinking about it the wrong way, causing him to sigh, as he was going to have some words with Ichigo when this was over, "But to me it looks like your sword has stopped."
Byakuya glanced off at one of the blades near them and called it out of where it was resting, as Sombra had broken the last blade he had fought against, though as that happened he noticed that Sombra raised his eyebrows as he stabbed Ichigo's right foot with the new blade, before releasing the handle as he moved his left hand.
"Hado Number 4," Byakuya said, to which he raised his hand until his left pointer finger was pointing at Ichigo, where he made sure that his finger was resting close to his opponent's shoulder, as he intended to make sure this hit before Sombra had a chance to come in and stop him, "Byakurai."
That was followed by a bolt of lightning erupting from Byakuya's fingertip as it tore through Ichigo's shoulder and headed off into the distance, though as Ichigo stood there, his body in pain from that attack, Sombra shook his head, as this wasn't what he had been expecting when he noticed that his friend was suffering in this manner... before Byakuya pulled out the second blade from Ichigo's foot and allowed him to stagger backwards for a few moments, as he was pleased that this had happened when it did.
"This is your limit, isn't it, Ichigo Kurosaki?" Byakuya asked, though he was mentally happy for Ichigo to fail in this manner, as this allowed him to focus the rest of his power on making Sombra suffer and bringing an end to this battle, since he was the more immediate danger of the two and getting rid of the weakling seemed like a good idea, "It seems that you 'felt' my speed increase when I activated the Senkei, but that is incorrect. Senkei condenses the scattered blades into the shape of a sword, while explosively increasing the ability for me to create more fatal wounds, meaning that my speed did not change at all... rather your speed was the one decreasing since this was activated. You fought well, as you were able to hold your ground against several people that possessed the skills necessary to be a Captain, and you even held on well after taking a shot from Senbonzakura, but you can feel it, can't you? Your flesh and bones are already dying. After all, you're only Human, meaning that you have a limit and this is that limit... meaning that it's time we ended this battle."
Sombra, upon hearing that Byakuya was planning on actually killing his friend while he was present, instead of coming after him first, caused him to growl as he took a step forward, but before he could flash through the air, and reach his target, Ichigo's left hand reached up and stopped the blade from hitting him... though as that happened Sombra felt a new pressure coming from Ichigo, as his reiatsu had been infected by the Hollow that he had felt a few times in the past, causing him to pause as he wondered what was going on.
"I told you that i'd be in trouble if you died, you idiot." Ichigo said, though Sombra noticed the distorted nature of his friend's voice, as well as the white strands that were the beginnings of a mask on the upper left portion of his face, which told him that he was right about the Hollow returning.
"Impossible!" Byakuya stated, as he could understand Sombra stopping his attack, because he was the first Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar that anyone had seen in a long time and his strength was enough to make him consider that the only one capable of beating him was the Captain-Commander, but he could not understand Ichigo's ability to suddenly do the same thing, "What are you?"
"What am I?" the Hollow asked, though that was followed by him raising Ichigo's head for a moment as he stared at Byakuya, revealing that the creature was definitely in control at the moment, before his grin widened as he prepared himself for what he was going to do next, "I don't have a name!"
It was in that following moment that the Hollow swung Ichigo's right arm and sliced into Byakuya's body with Zangetsu, surprising both Sombra and Byakuya at the same time, while forcing his opponent backwards, while at the same time gripping the blade that Byakuya had left behind to get away from him.
"You really suck at this, Ichigo!" the Hollow said, his tone revealing that there was something about the situation that he was annoyed about and found funny at the same time, making Sombra wonder if Zangetsu, the spirit of Ichigo's Zanpakuto, had used the Hollow to train Ichigo in some manner and that it was annoyed about Ichigo's performance, "You got beaten by your Bankai's reiatsu, which cracked the bones throughout your body. You're so pathetic that I'm sure that even Sombra is disappointed in you! I'll show you how to properly use your Bankai!"
Sombra watched as the Hollow shattered the Senbonzakura blade that he was holding onto, prompting Byakuya to summon another one into his right hand, but that was when the Hollow moved Ichigo's right arm and swung in an odd manner, as it swung like it was coiling around something, while at the same time releasing a Getsuga Tenshou that was black colored and had a red outline. Byakuya, seeing the attack coming his way, immediately moved out of the way by flashing backwards, allowing the attack to crash into where he had been standing, though as he did that he noticed that Sombra was looking above him, to which he looked up and found Ichigo above him. Byakuya paused for a moment until his opponent swung at him, releasing another black Getsuga, where he flashed out of the way and purposely allowed it to crash into the ground, before the Hollow appeared to the side, some distance away from him, and spun around to release another black Getsuga at Byakuya, who backed away once more. As that happened the Hollow appeared behind his back, stopping him in the process while revealing that the mask had evolved until it covered the left half of Ichigo's face, and loosed another Getsuga into his target's back, causing the two attacks to collide with Byakuya... causing an explosion to erupt in front on him as Sombra observed what was going on, even though he was planning on stopping this before the mask has a chance to fully form.
When the smoke cleared, however, Sombra discovered that Byakuya was bleeding as much as he had been when they fought earlier, though at the same time the object that was resting in his hair, which kept his hair in the style he preferred to wear, broke as well, but Byakuya didn't seem to notice that as he faced his opponent.
"The way this reiatsu feels, and that mask..." Byakuya said, as he had some experience with dealing with Sombra, and feeling the intense reiatsu that had come from the Arrancar, and knew that he had to be correct, but that didn't explain how someone like Ichigo had a Hollow like this inside of him, "You're a Hollow, aren't you?"
"Who knows? There's no need for you to know!" the Hollow stated, the wide smile remaining on his face as more strands joined the mask and increased the mass that was resting in front of Ichigo's face, before he raised Ichigo's right hand and let the strands of a Getsuga Tensho gather around Zangetsu's blade, "With this next attack you're going to be dead, so there's no reason for me to tell you anything... and then I can focus on showing Sombra why I'm the superior, and much more powerful, Hollow around!"
"Come and try." Sombra said, to which he raised his Zanpakuto and readied himself, as he knew that the majority of his skills would allow him to negate his opponent's attacks, so long as they didn't surprise him, and his offensive abilities would put the pressure on him, though he'd need to hold back to avoid killing Ichigo.
Before he could do anything, and before Byakuya could stab the distracted Hollow in the side, it's left eye widened as Ichigo's left hand latched onto the inner part of the mask and started battling for control of Ichigo's body, where Sombra smiled as he noticed that Ichigo was pulling himself out of the Hollow's control. What was interesting to Sombra, and he might have been the only one to catch it, was that the Hollow was the one claiming that Ichigo was interfering with the fight and that he'd win if he was left in control for a few more moments, but the reason it was interesting was because it didn't found like an invader talking. Rather the more he listened to the words that the Hollow said, and went over the words that he had said earlier when he first appeared, it was almost like the Hollow was trying to tell Ichigo that he was trying to help him, like a partner that wasn't being acknowledged or something, which only made him wonder about what was going on even more. It sounded like, from the bits that he overheard, that the Hollow was suggesting that he might actually be Zangetsu, which, if that was the case, made him wonder who the other figure was, the old man that had come out when Ichigo was trying to go through his Bankai training... and yet, despite his thoughts, there was only one thing that he could think to say that would stall the Hollow long enough for Ichigo to regain control of the situation and shatter the mask before he lost the battle.
"Zangetsu!" Sombra called out, as if he was calling out to Ichigo's blade to assist him, because that was what Byakuya and Ichigo would think he was doing and they would fully expect the Hollow to turn around in a rage, but what really happened was the Hollow turned Ichigo's head and stared at him... giving Ichigo enough time to tear the mask off his face and reassert himself as the one that was in control of his body, much to the Hollow's dismay.
Sombra, on the other hand, was the only one of them to have noticed the look of recognition that appeared in the Hollow's eye when he glanced over at him, as the Hollow understand what he had said and seemed to be shocked that someone had figured it out before he was cast back into Ichigo's inner world.
"Sorry about that getting in the way." Ichigo said, though he took a few moments to catch his breath as the fragments of the mask fell to the ground, where they broke apart and disappeared into nothingness, before he focused on Byakuya, as he would have words with Sombra about what he said later, when they weren't fighting for their lives.
"Very well, I will not ask what that form was just now." Byakuya stated, because between the frightening power that the Hollow that had taken over Ichigo possessed, and the insane power that was still coming off from Sombra, reminding him that a Vasto Lorde stood near him, he didn't have the energy to battle for much longer, "Neither you or I have the strength to continue swinging our swords at each other. The curtain falls with the next, and last, attack."
"Yeah, but may I ask you this once more?" Ichigo inquired, as there was something that he wanted to know, since the Captain in front of him was supposed to be Rukia's older brother, and he was sure that Sombra might have the same question that he was thinking of, "Why don't you save Rukia?"
"If you can best me, then I shall tell you." Byakuya replied, to which he glanced over at Sombra for a moment, as there was a reason that he was talking to Ichigo and not the Arrancar, though he was pleased to find that Sombra understood and backed away to let them finish their fight.
Byakuya held out the blade that he was still holding onto and grasped it with both of his hands, to which Sombra watched as the thousand glowing blades around them disappeared and pulled their energies into the blade that the Captain was wielding... before he released the energy into the form of a white bird that's head seemed to be where the blade was located, with the wings branching off to the side like they came from his back and a halo appearing just beyond that point as well, impressing Sombra with the display.
"Shukei: Hakuteiken." Byakuya said, though at the same time Sombra understood that the name implied that this technique was actually called 'Endscape: White Imperial Sword', and the reiatsu and pressure that it was giving out was truly immense, though he was definitely impressed by the technique.
"You know, I'm not going to lie, but that's impressive." Ichigo stated, as he never thought that he'd see something like this during their battle, because he expected Sombra to deal the finishing blow a long time ago, but then he sighed as he readied his right arm and gathered his reiatsu, forming a swirling mass of dark reiatsu around his blade, "And I'm going to have to apologize as well, because I don't have anything that is as amazing as this technique... so I'm going to pour my power into one attack and hope it works."
Sombra watched as Ichigo and Byakuya, wielding the powers of Hakuteiken and Getsuga Tensho respectively, charged at each other and let loose one final attack that shook the entirety of the Senkei cage that had forced around them, while at the same time shrouding them from his sight for a few seconds. When the light faded he found that Ichigo was now standing where Byakuya had been standing earlier and that the Captain was doing the same thing that his friend was doing, only they seemed to be standing still as their wounds finally caught up with them as the Senkei ended before their very eyes. The interesting aspect of the finale was that both of them ended up cutting the other on their shoulders, which Sombra honestly wasn't expecting since the blades seemed to be angled towards the chest area, though to him the winner had to be Ichigo, as Byakuya's blade had come undone the moment Ichigo's clashed with his, meaning that the power of his Hakuteiken had protected him from the power of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. It was in that following moment that Byakuya held his end of the deal and revealed that the reason he would kill Rukia was because sinners had to be dealt with and that if his family, the Kuchiki Family, didn't uphold the law then none of the other Shinigami would follow suit, and that emotions tied to people such as family meant nothing to him.
Ichigo, as Sombra suspected, stated that he didn't understand what Byakuya was talking about and said that if he was in the Captain's position he'd fight the laws that stated that Rukia needed to die for giving him the power to protect his family and his friends when on one else could... only for Byakuya to understand that Ichigo had been targeting Soul Society's laws the entire time and not a single person, before saying that they had won and flashed out of the area.
A few moments later, when Ichigo started to celebrate, both he and Sombra were reunited with the rest of their group, as Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Sora, and Ganju, including the Lieutenant of the Eleventh Division and some guy with a mustache that they had never seen before, approach the two of them. Interestingly enough all of their friends were wearing the robes of a Shinigami, some of them had been injured in their fights, and Uryu, from what Sombra could tell, made the ultimate sacrifice, as the Quincy's powers had disappeared entirely, even though he was trying to hide it from the others until they were safe and sound. Orihime made a big deal about the wounds that Ichigo had, and even used her Flowers to mend some of them to the point where they weren't bleeding anymore, though when that was done, and Ichigo released his Bankai in the process due to how exhausted he was, the group started to move down the hill so they could meet up with Renji and Rukia so they could plan their escape. At the same time Ichigo inquired as to why Sombra was remaining in his Bankai, to which Sombra revealed that there was something about this whole situation that he didn't trust and, since he wasn't exhausted at all, he just wanted to be ready in case something happened, though he intended to release it if it turned out his feelings about everything were incorrect.
Of course he had to be right about his thoughts, as when the group was halfway down the stairs that led to the bottom of the hill they had to stop as they felt some sort of connection form in their minds, a technique that Sombra recognized as Bakudo Number 77: Tenteikura, a communication spell designed to transmit information to large groups of people at the same time, often used during a large-scale battle. The speaker, Isane Kotetsu, revealed to the Captains, Lieutenants, and their group that a previously thought to be dead Captain, Aizen Sosuke, had conspired with his fellow Captains Gin Ishimaru and Tosen Kaname and killed Central 46, an important part of Soul Society, as well as wounding both Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro and Momo Hinamori. There was a number of other crimes as well that Aizen even confessed to before departing the area that he had been in, but Sombra paid no attention to that as he felt both Renji and Rukia's reiatsu appear in the area he, Ichigo, and Byakuya had been fighting in, to which Ichigo immediately went back into his Bankai form, putting even more pressure on his barely healed body, before flashing up so he could save Rukia and Renji... to which Sombra sighed as he flashed after Ichigo, keeping pace with him as he reached the area that they were returning to, before Ichigo reached the area in front of Renji and stopped the incoming blade from hitting him, all while noticing that Zabimaru had been broken in it's Shikai state.
Sombra recognized Gin immediately, as he was the only one of the three Captains that he had met before this point in time, though the first one he looked at had to be the one called Tosen, who had an orange scarf around his neck, wore boots in place of the traditional Shinigami sandals, black gloves that were missing the finger parts, and what appeared to be clear goggles, though he was missing his Captain's haori. The person he was most interested in, however, was the Shinigami that appeared as a mild-featured man with brown scholarly hair enhanced by square glasses, along with soft brown eyes, and, as Sombra suspected, he also wore the standard Shinigami uniform with a Captain's haori, which meant that this had to be the one called Aizen. While he observed the Captain that he was focused on, whose reiatsu was so strong that he had to keep it at a more manageable level to fool those around him, something that he wasn't affected by due to the fact that he was stronger than most Captains in the Gotei 13, both Ichigo and Renji, who was still holding onto Rukia, backed away and started bickering among themselves... before Rukia stopped them and made them realize that they needed to focus on the enemies that had appeared in front of them.
"A piece of trash has arrived it seems, along with a treasure." Aizen commented, though there was something familiar about his voice, as he was sure that he had heard the voice before this moment, if only he could place it, before the Captain sighed and stepped forward.
It was in that moment that Ichigo and Renji failed horribly, because Renji apparently activated an ability of Zabimaru's called Higa Zekko, or 'Bite of a Broken Baboon's Fang', which lifted all the broken parts of his Zanpakuto into the air and pulled them down on Aizen, which was when Ichigo took the opportunity to strike... only for Aizen to catch his blade with just his fingertip, before slicing Ichigo across the waist like he was trying to kill him, and nearly succeeded from the sounds of it. As Ichigo fell, however, Aizen flashed behind Renji and delivered a punishing slash to his back as well, cutting him down and leaving Rukia practically defenseless at the moment, but, as he did that, he glanced over at Sombra, almost like he was expecting him to attack as well.
"Most interesting. You were able to see my movements, weren't you?" Aizen asked, though his tone suggested that he was simply going to have a conversation with Sombra at the moment, even though that meant that his guard had to be raised in case a trap was waiting for him, "Just what I expect from the Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar, form Adjuchas ranked Arrancar, that emerged from Hueco Mundo and started living in the World of the Living."
"Wait a second, that voice..." Sombra said, though it was in that moment that he understood where he remembered the voice from, as he had spoken to a stranger in the World of the Living once and saw him again when the Menos Grande came during Uryu's game, "You... your that stranger that arrived when Sora was trying to send himself to Soul Society and told him how to become an Arrancar, and the one that sent the Menos Grande after me, which allowed me to understand how to fire a Cero."
"Very good. You remembered my voice," Aizen replied, to which he walked over to Rukia and grabbed her by the collar that was around her neck, before hauling her up so she could stand, before he glanced over at Sombra again as he moved away from Ichigo and Renji, "Your reiatsu is impressive as well, because you are able to stand in my presence without being paralyzed, which is what is happening to Rukia at the moment. I used my knowledge of the Arrancar to test a hypothesis on your friend Sora, forming the second perfect Arrancar to appear in the World of the Living, though unfortunately he's about the level of a Gillian, so there's not much more room for improvement for him. You, on the other hand, are one of the strongest Arrancars Soul Society will ever come across, one that is stronger than the others that have come before you... and, despite unlocking your Bankai, you can grow even stronger than this."
It was in that moment that Ichigo moved slightly and turned to look at them, but as that happened Aizen turned and glanced at him, to which Sombra waved his hand and a crystalline dome, about the size of the shield that Orihime used to heal her target, formed around both Ichigo and Renji, keeping them protected for now, as he knew that the Captain might attack again in the future.
"Do no worry, I was not planning on killing them. Rather, I figured I'd explain myself," Aizen said, though he couldn't fault the Arrancar for trying to protect his friends, but at the same time he sheathed his Zanpakuto as he spoke, as there was something he needed to do before the other Captains arrived, "I knew that you and your companions would sneak into West Rukongai. That's why there was already a guard when you arrived there, and in case something were to happen Gin would go intercept you directly, as that increased the chances of you all falling into my hands. Seiri-heki came down the moment you arrived. If the Captains were handing on the inside of the walls, the only way for you to get through was through the use of Kukaku Shiba's Flower Crane Cannon, creating a flashy entrance that caused a commotion throughout the Seireitei. Some of you were strong enough to make the Captains run about and keep them distracted for a long time, especially you, Sombra, your presence inside the Seireitei made several of them worried... actually, your movements were quite wonderful, especially the opening of the Shrine of Penitence for a few moments."
"I'll say," Gin commented, though at the same time he crossed his arms as he spoke, while Tosen seemed focused on something else that was happening at the moment, "Even the death of a Captain, which was an elaborate ploy to keep Aizen free to conduct his business, didn't create a big scene, not when a powerful Arrancar, the strongest in the last two to five hundred years at the very least, was running amok in the Seireitei."
"How did you know that we would be arriving where we did?" Sombra asked, as that was something that he didn't understand, but at the very least Aizen was willing to answer questions and reveal his plan to them, which he wanted to know before the battle resumed.
"You ask a strange question." Aizen remarked, as if he felt that Sombra should have known the answer before even opening his mouth, but, since he was in a good mood, he also decided that he was going to answer the question, even if his words brought a surprised look to Sombra's face, "But I shall tell you anyway. The reason I know that is because Nishi Rukongai is Urahara Kisuke's base. The only place that you can break into, using the Senkaimon that only he can make, is that area. You seem surprised. Aren't you and your companions his underlings?"
"Are you suggesting that we came here under orders to take back Rukia?" Sombra inquired, though at the same time he recalled the information that he and Ichigo had learned about Kisuke earlier, which only caused him to wonder what else he didn't know about his friends, "We came here to save Rukia from her execution and take her away from those that wanted to kill her... and I, personally, came to beat Byakuya in battle, since he devastated me back in the World of the Living when he and Renji took Rukia."
"I see, so he didn't tell you anything about it either." Aizen said, though he could understand Urahara's reasons for not revealing the existence of what he was talking about to someone like Sombra, who might want to use the power for his own devices, before he turned slightly and started walking forward, "Very well, I shall tell you. Are you aware of the fact that there are four essential ways for a Shinigami to fight?"
"Yes, I do." Sombra replied, as it was one of the first things he had been taught when he first learned how to fight, and, thanks to all his training, he was incredibly powerful in all four of the techniques that Aizen was referring to, while at the same time he noticed that Ichigo was listening as he remained under the safety of his Shukan, "Zanjutsu, the art of basic sword fighting, Hakuda, the art of unarmed fighting, Hoho, the art of high-speed fighting and Shunpo, and Kido, the art of using spells, like Hado and Bakudo, in battle."
"You live up to Urahara's training. I'm glad." Aizen stated, though at the same time he continued his slow walk, as he was sure that the Arrancar would find what he was going to say next to be interesting, "However, you may not be aware of the fact that all of these methods have a limit to their strength. With each skill that a Shinigami masters, the strength of their soul will hit a wall, that's where the growth stops. Let me ask you this; is there a way for break through those walls and surpass the limits of your abilities? And the answer to that question is yes, there is only one way to do that. That way is the transformation of a Shinigami into a Hollow, and vise versa, the transformation of a Hollow into a Shigiami, something that you are familiar with since you started out as a Hollow and became an Arrancar. As you can confirm, breaking down the walls between the two allows one to obtain even greater power than they could on their own, even though I did several tests to confirm this theory: creating Hollows that could hide their reiatsu, Hollows that can make Zanpakuto disappear just by touching them, Hollows with the ability to fuse with a Shinigami."
"Based on your tone, I take it they never turned out right?" Sombra inquired, but, at the same time, he knew that the Captain's experiments hadn't been a total failure, not when Sora was able to become a successful Arrancar due to the words he had given him.
"Correct, and I only had some success by assisting Sora, which yielded limited results," Aizen said, though he was still impressed by the fact that the Arrancar was able to gleam some information from his words and his face, something that he would have to consider for later, "In the end neither myself, nor most of the others that came before me, were able to figure out how to do it... however, Urahara Kisuke was able to make a way that did just that. He created something that could cross over the barrier between a Shinigami and a Hollow in an instant, a product that surpassed all of Soul Society's common knowledge. The name of this product is Hogyoku, or the Breakdown Sphere. It was a dangerous creation, one that Urahara tried to destroy at one point in time, though in the end he was unable to find a way to do so, thus resorting to his final, and only, option: placing a barrier around the Hogyoku and buried it deep within another soul in order to hide it from those that sought it. At the time he had only one place to hide it, and that's inside you, Rukia Kuchiki."
Rukia's eyes widened as she thought about the private conversation she and Kisuke had back when she first found his shop, with Sombra's help, and realized why the shopkeeper had been so eager to lend her a gigai when she transferred her powers into Ichigo.
"When I found out about this, you had already disappeared somewhere in the World of the Living." Aizen continued, not even giving the people around him time to talk, as he wanted to get through the next step quickly before enemy reinforcements arrived to interrupt him, "Of course, I had a hunch that it was Urahara's doing, because at one point he developed a Reishi, a Spirit Child, that could not increase it's energy, which he used to create a gigai that couldn't be locked onto, and then he left Soul Society. This is the only way for a Shinigami in a gigai to go missing. The other reason he left is because the Shinigami inside this gigai will continually split it's reiryoku, meaning that they will never be able to regain their Spirit Energy, their communication with the gigai will become dull, and, in the end, they will lose their reiryoku, becoming just a mere Human soul in the process. By turning Rukia into a Human Urahara would be able to hide the Hogyoku from those that sought it, completely shrouding it's whereabouts. Luckily I was able to find you after a couple of months and could prevent that from happening, so I immediately went to Central 46 and..."
It was in that instant that one of the Captains, one that was taller than the others Sombra had encountered and looked like a wolf that had taken on Human characteristics, dropped out of the sky and landed behind Aizen, before swinging his blade down at the traitorous Captain... only for Aizen to catch the blade with his bare hand, almost like it was nothing compared to the power he possessed at the moment.
"It's been a while since I've seen your uncovered face, hasn't it?" Aizen asked, revealing to Sombra that this Captain generally wore something to cover his face, meaning that the cover must have either broken or he had forgot to put it on when he heard the news about this betrayal, "I wonder what this change of heart is, Konamura?"
"Why are you able to laugh like that, Aizen?!" the Captain, Konamura, demanded, his tone revealing that he was pissed about what he had discovered, though his anger only seemed to flare when he stared at Tosen for a moment, "I will never be able to forgive you for plotting against us and betraying us. Tosen, that goes for you as well!"
Sombra watched as Konamura completely ignored his existence, focusing on the anger that he felt, and swung his left fist at Aizen, causing him and Rukia to jump backwards as a much larger fist, no doubt part of his Shikai or his Bankai, struck where Aizen had been standing. In the following seconds Aizen pulled a fast one on Konamura as he undid some illusion that only the Captain could see, as Sombra could see the traitorous Captain flash through the air and his afterimage break apart, only for Konamura to look down in shock as Aizen raised his right hand. That was when Sombra got his first glance at a Hado that was in the 90's, as Aizen called upon the power of Hado Number 90: Kurohitsugi, or 'Black Coffin', and entrapped the wolf Captain inside a massive black square that formed all around him, only for the cage to dispel seconds later and allow the defeated Konamura to drop to the floor in a small pool of his own blood.
"Impressive." Sombra commented, reminding Aizen that he was there, though it wasn't like the Captain could forget that he was present, not when the two of them had been talking the entire time, but that didn't stop Aizen from latching his hand onto Rukia's collar once more, "A Kido that was in the 90's, the Number 90, Kurohitsugi, or 'Black Coffin', to be exact... even I have tried something like that out yet."
"Again you impress me with your knowledge of Kido," Aizen said, as he had heard from Gin that Sombra was able to use both Sokatsui and Shakkaho, Hado Number 33 and 31 respectively, as well as Seki, Bakudo Number 8, though hearing that he knew about the higher leveled Kido truly impressed him, giving him thoughts about his own project, "but that was a failure. I was unable to draw out even a third of it's destructive powers, as it is much harder to control a Kido that is at that level or above it. Now then, shall we continue our conversation?"
It was in that moment that Ichigo, spotting the rest of their group coming out of the trees, called out for them to stop, though Gin moved forward and used his intense reiatsu to stop all of them in their tracks and force them to their knees, making it impossible for anyone from the group to interfere.
"Once I discovered where Rukia was located, in the World of the Living, I immediately went to where Central 46 was located and massacred them." Aizen continued, as if he wasn't bothered by the arrival of Ichigo and Sombra's friends, but he had to keep track of what was going on and he knew that time was running out before the other Captains arrived, to which he continued moving as he spoke, "You likely heard, from Isane, that I killed Central 46 to 'hide my whereabouts', but that is incorrect, as the moment I found Rukia I killed them and used my Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, to create the illusion that Central 46 was still alive and continuing their meetings. From that point forward one of the three of us would be in the Underground Senate, meaning that we had to act like Central 46 and control all the orders like they would, and, to ensure that Rukia was captured, I changed those that were supposed to go out into the World of the Living to Renji and Byakuya, and it proved to be the perfect inspiration for you to improve your skills as well. I was the one that ultimately decided to use the Sokyoku to vaporize Rukia's soul so I could get at the Hogyoku, even though I also had to search the Underground Conference Room's Repository of Great Spirit Books for something that would allow me to forcefully remove the Hogyoku in case someone were to destroy it before it could complete the execution."
"So basically you're saying that everything, from the moment that Rukia entered the World of the Living to this point in time, as all been a part of your plan to get the Hogyoku?" Sombra asked, though at the same time that was impressive, as it must have taken Aizen a long time to come up with the plan the moment he realized what was going on, or maybe the plan had come together so quickly that it was child's play for someone like him.
"Correct." Aizen said, as it was good to speak to someone that at least understood that he had been playing a long game and that it was time for that game, or at least part of it, to be over at last, though at the same time he reached into his clothing and grasped the item he had grabbed earlier, "It seems that I was correct in preparing for the possibility that the Sokyoku was destroyed, even though it took me some time to search for what I needed, despite the fact that I looked through all of Urahara's notes to find the answer. I figured that since he was the one to devise the technique to combine and bury matter inside a soul, to hide the Hogyoku, that the key to forcefully remove that same matter would be carefully hidden away in his research... and I eventually found it."
Sombra watched as Aizen pulled out what appeared to be a small cylinder of some kind, one that emitted some light steam when he pressed down on it, though that was before several sickly green colored spikes, curved at the top, erupted from the ground around him and electricity danced around their peaks. At the same time Aizen's right hand turned the same color as the spikes, before he lifted Rukia into the air and stabbed her in the chest, only for Sombra to discover that she was unharmed, as a hole had opened around Aizen's hand and he carefully removed it, where he spotted a small bluish-purple colored sphere that was surrounded by a barrier.
"Now this is a surprise, that it's something so small." Aizen said, staring at the Hogyoku as his right arm and hand returned to normal, the spikes disappeared as quickly as they arrived, and the hole in Rukia's chest vanished, "And the soul itself is uninjured in the process! Such a wonderful technique... though now that leaves me with a body to get rid of. Gin, take care of her."
In the moment that Gin drew and activated his Zanpakuto Sombra didn't move, as Byakuya, of all people, flashed into the area they were in and grabbed onto his sister, protecting her as he was stabbed in the side by Gin's blade, though as he touched the ground, and the blade was withdrawn, Aizen decided not to bother with them at all. Of course that seemed to present an opening as he started to pocket the Hogyoku, as Sombra took the opportunity to transform his left arm and fist into solid crystal, backed and reinforced by his own reiatsu, and swung at the traitorous Captain, who used his left hand to grab the attack... even though a few seconds later Sombra pushed him backwards and there was some smoke coming from his hand, indicating that he had done something as he landed.
"Impressive. You are definitely powerful for a Vasto Lorde." Aizen said, though he was slightly caught off guard by the fact that Sombra had attacked him, as he had been expecting the Arrancar to stand there and learn of his plans, but at the same time he knew that he had already revealed everything to him, meaning that the time for him to hold back was over, hence the powerful punch just now.
Before he could say anything else Sombra looked into the sky as Kukaku, riding on Jidanbo's shoulder, descended from the sky and recited the entire incantation for Hado Number 63: Raikoho, or 'Thunder Roar Sear', to which she loosed a powerful bolt of lightning down on Aizen, who wasn't affected by the attack when the smoke cleared. In the following instant Sombra smiled as Yoruichi and Soi Fon appeared near Aizen, preventing him from drawing his blade and holding a sword to his neck, while the rest of the Captains and their Lieutenants flashed into the area around them, with one of them appearing behind Gin and holding their Zanpakuto against his neck. At first Sombra actually thought it was over, that Aizen had revealed his hand and had spent too much time conversing with him to escape, but then, just as Yoruichi started to say that it was over, he looked into the sky and found that it was starting to crack and separate, just like when those Menos Grande appeared in the World of the Living... though as that happened he called out for the others to get away from the three traitors immediately, to which Yoruichi, who trusted him the most, did so and the other three followed suit within seconds.
Of course Sombra wasn't happy when he was right that something happened, as three beams of energy appeared from the sky, where the cracks opened to reveal a mass of Menos Grande and some other creature behind them, and struck the traitors. It was in that moment that the Captain-Commander revealed that this was called Negacion, or 'Negative Aster', that was something that Menos used to save one of their own and that it was impenetrable, meaning that Aizen, Gin, and Tosen had beaten them for the time being as they, and the immediate ground around their feet, were lifted into the sky and left Soul Society behind. As all this happened Konamura, despite being weak from the Kido he took, got up and demanded to know why Tosen was leaving as well, only to get a response that was basically the path Tosen followed was 'justice', even if Sombra felt that the Captain was a fool to begin with. Aizen's grand plan, according to him when Ukitake asked him what he was doing, was that no one was standing in 'Heaven' at the moment, as in not Ukitake, not him, and not even God, and that he intended to chance that fact by taking the empty throne as he shattered his glasses and ran a hand back through his hair, turning it swept back with a single bang hanging in front of his eyes... before he bid them all farewell, including both him and Ichigo, before he and his companions stepped into the void before it closed.
Sombra sighed for a moment, because while they succeeded in saving Rukia from an untimely demise they had also allowed the evil mastermind, that he and Ichigo didn't even know about until now, get away with an artifact of great and terrible power, especially considering that he had to be heading to Hueco Mundo. As the Captains and Lieutenants went around the area, taking note of what had gone on, calling in the healers to mend the wounded, and Sombra's came forth to help Ichigo after he removed the barrier he had used to keep him safe, Sombra finally relaxed his power and the wind whipped around him for a moment as he released his Bankai, allowing the power to fade away. Once he had reverted back to his base form, however, he noticed that his power was definitely stronger, which made sense considering that he had passed into a new level earlier, but he stood off to the side and watched as Shinigami ran about, while at the same time noticing that some of the Captains were already staring at him. He was sure that they were keeping their eyes on him, as he was a Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar, the most dangerous of the three classifications, but at the very least he was pleased that he and his friends were being left alone as Orihime tended to Ichigo... while Renji and Captain Konamura were carefully taken to one of the relief centers, so they could mend their wounds, and Byakuya was treated right then and there before doing that as well.
While that happened, however, Byakuya eventually reached a point where he could call Rukia over and she approached her brother without delay, to which Sombra's ears twitched as he listened to what was revealed to Rukia, which he decided not to share since it wasn't his to share. Fifteen years, according to Byakuya, he lost his wife before the plums blossomed, where Rukia told her brother that she knew the story of how Hisana, who she apparently looked like, died and how the fact that was resembled Hisana was the reason that she was taken into the Kuchiki Clan. Byakuya then revealed that he instructed the staff of the manor to tell Rukia that lie, because the reality of the situation was that Hisana was actually Rukia's older sister and that, sometime after the two of them appeared in a zone of Rukongai called Inuzuri, after they died in the World of the Living, Hisana came to the conclusion to abandon Rukia because she couldn't care for the two of them at that point in time, only for Byakuya to find her and take her on as his wife. Because she regretted that act, by abandoning her own sister, Hisana took it upon herself to search for Rukia every day, until eventually she collapsed after five years, which was when she took a turn for the worse, meaning that it was the same year that she died, and Hisana made sure that Byakuya promised to find her... and, soon after she passed away, Byakuya was able to find Rukia and brought her into the family as his sister, as part of the promise that he made to his wife before she passed away.
In that moment Sombra understood why Byakuya said that he didn't want any family ties, as his past was full of pain from losing Hisana, and he drowned out the last bit of the story as he wondered why the Captain's story made him a little sad, though as he sat by one of the rocks, however, Yoruichi sat next to him and watched the Shinigami as well. What he found was that, with just her mere presence, the sadness that had rose for a few seconds had been squished by a stronger and completely different emotion, one that he hadn't felt before today, but he'd have to figure out what that was in the future. The reason was because he could tell that the Captain-Commander was staring at him, even with his eyes closed, and there was the fact that Zaraki was grinning at him as he leaned again one of the trees that was near where they were located, telling him that he wanted to battle him in the near future... to which Sombra sighed and focused on the moment that was around him, as he had the feeling that the next couple of days were going to be quite busy.