Ichigo found Byakuya under the bush and knelt down to him. He saw where someone had hit him in the head and sneered at the pure audacity that they would hurt him like that. He was very quiet as he hear Urahara talking to someone and then quickly used sonido to get back to the Kuchiki Mansion a little faster than normal. Normally, he would care about the spiritual pressure the sonido gave off but Byakuya was in trouble.

Ginrei met Ichigo at the door, taking the boy from Ichigo immediately.

"Someone hit him in the head." He informed the older man.

"We have healers that can help him... I felt your spiritual pressure change. We will talk about that later. What is this white substance on his eyes?"

Ichigo looked at Byakuya and something thick and glue-like was oozing from his eyes.

"I don't know. That wasn't there before... I'm so sorry, Ginrei-sama."

"We'll discuss this later, Kurosaki-san." He said in a gruff tone.

Unohana suddenly appeared and smiled at Ichigo.

"I'm sorry, young man, but you'll have to wait in the hallway while we heal the young master."

"But I-"

"You. Wait. Out. Here." She said with a smile that gave off a horrid aura.

Ichigo forgot the power Unohana had and flinched at her dangerous smile but decided it may have been best to leave them to do their jobs. She closed the door and he went to his room.

********************

All night he worried about what was going to happen with both him and Byakuya. He must have been in great pain because he heard him screaming in pain every once in a while. When he cried out, Ichigo wanted to be with him but they would never let him in. He finally attempted sleep and achieved a horrible version of it that included a very vivid dream in which Byakuya died and the Seireitei put Ichigo to death.

"Kurosaki-san." He heard someone say.

Ichigo sat up quickly as Ginrei walked in, closing his door behind him. Ichigo stood up and swallowed hard.

"How is he?"

"He is... alive... Unohana said that it took so long because his body acted like he was trying to reject her healing advances. At one point it seemed the healing wasn't even working, almost like his body wasn't even shinigami anymore... but she figured it out and pushed through. He's safe for now but she said his memory... well... We're not quite sure how hard he was hit in the head."

"I see."

Ginrei motioned to sit down and they sat across from each other.

"What are you, Kurosaki-san?"

Ichigo chuckled. "I ask that same question all the time... I'm not truly sure. I am able to use Hollow powers when I need to but I don't really know why. When I was turned into a shinigami, I almost became a Hollow because my chain was eaten to my heart but I defeat it instead."

"What do you mean 'turned into a shinigami'?"

"I'm human but I had high spiritual pressure so I saw the plus' and such. Something happens and I gain the abilities of a shinigami for a short while until they are taken away. Then, I had to gain my own ability so my soul was knocked out of my body and I forcefully had to become a shinigami."

Ginrei frowned. "Who would do that to a man?"

"Uh... I can't really tell you. But I went to save my friend and then it turned into a war. After the war ended, I had used up all of my spiritual pressure and had just a little bit of time left when I was sent to get a sample of koryu and then ended up here."

Ginrei nodded and then looked at Ichigo for a moment.

"You realize that you cannot stay here any longer."

"I know. Urahara said that he was actually on his way here with the formula to send me back to Karakura Town when the Hollow arrived and an emergency came to his attention. I am supposed to wait for Yoruichi to come and get me."

Ginrei stood up and Ichigo followed. Ginrei held out his hand and Ichigo shook it.

"This will most likely be the last time we will talk, Ichigo Kurosaki. You have been most extraordinary to know and I'm sure Byakuya will be stronger because of it."

"I hope I haven't messed anything up."

"I think you've made a better person out of my grandson. From what little you've described of him, he seems a real stick in the mud." Ichigo lifted his eyebrows at the statement. "I hope his mannerisms change a little."

"You and me both... Can... can I see him?"

"He is still unconscious but yes, you may sit with him until Yoruichi comes." A Hell's butterfly came in an announced that they were going to call in Urahara and Tessai to Central 46 for crimes that had been committed. "It seems you have very little time. Yoruichi will be here for you very soon. It seems your friend has gotten himself into horrible trouble."

Ichigo nodded and grabbed his zanpakuto, going to Byakuya's room.

*****************

He entered into the boy's room and found him laying very still, almost dead-like. Ichigo got on his knees and put his ear to Byakuya's mouth to listen for breathing. To his relief, he was breathing fine and he brushed the sweaty hair from Byakuya's face. There were scars all over his body from the little Hollow's, holes and a very bad acidic burn on the left side of his face.

"You're going to be pissed about that one." He said with a small chuckle.

Byakuya winced at the remaining pain left in his body and then quieted. Ichigo smiled a little and picked up his hand for a moment.

"I will miss you, Byakuya. I truly will. When we meet again I will have never met you until I lose my powers. Please don't be angry because I don't remember you. I won't have met this side of you until later..."

"Ichigo." He looked up and saw Yoruichi in the window sill. "We need to go now. We are in the middle of a crisis."

Ichigo nodded and set Byakuya's hand down. He sighed and leaned over to whisper into the young shinigami's ear.

"Do you remember why big brothers are born first?"

"Ichigo."

Ichigo got up and left with Yoruichi as Byakuya laid in the room alone. After a moment Byakuya only said one thing.

"Ichi-nii...?"

******************

Ichigo followed Yoruichi until she directed him to go somewhere else.

"I have a hideout. I have to go get Urahara-san and Tessai. He will give you the formula then and you can go back home."

"What's going on? I heard he was being tried for something..."

"He is being accused of trying to make Hollows and Tessai is being tried for using a forbidden kido. They will strip their powers if I don't hurry. Go do what I said and we will meet you there."

Ichigo nodded and snuck over to the main Senkaimon and waited.

After some minutes, Urahara appeared next to him.

"Here. I don't have much time. You need to plunge this into the koryu as soon as you step foot into the Dangai or you will just go to the time equivalent to our time now. You will notice a change and then you may proceed. Good luck, Kurosaki-kun."

He left and Ichigo waited for the right time to use the formula. He figured nighttime would be much better and so fell asleep on the back side of one of the columns.

When nightfall came, Ichigo snuck on the side of the where the door was for the Senkaimon, figuring out how to distract the guards when a strange noise sounded and the two guards left on their own. Ichigo thought it was luck when he saw Gin walking up to the door.

"Hello, Kurosaki-san."

"What do you want, Gin?" Ichigo hissed.

"I can always call the guards back." He said with a turn of his head.

Ichigo growled. "What is it?"

"You told me not to follow Aizen-sama. Why?"

"I told you why."

"You said he was too powerful. Only someone who knows the future knows that..."

"I'm not going to talk to you. You'll just tell Aizen and then everything will get screwed up on my end. He already knows most of my life anyway... according to him."

"I'm following Aizen so I can kill him." Ichigo looked at him as he frowned at him. "For Rangiku."

Ichigo remembered when he died and knelt down to him.

"It's a moot point, Gin. He already knows that and he will kill you first."

Gin smiled big again and then actually opened his eyes at Ichigo.

"Then this will be an interesting journey. They will be back soon, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo nodded and went to the Senkaimon, the doors opening. He immediately put the formula into the roryu. The doors closed behind him and it looked like the Dangai rippled and The Cleaner disappeared completely again. He ran through the pathway of the roryu, ready to go back home and satisfied about his spiritual pressure being almost gone again. I have history I need to make sure I didn't change.