Fortunately, the last two squad members were waiting safely at the standby point for the others to return.
So everyone was fine after all. I worried for nothing.
Thinking that, Byakuya drew the long sword from behind his waist and examined it for a moment.
He noticed Ryūhei setting the unconscious enemy down nearby, but he only gave the blade a casual once-over, confirmed there was nothing wrong with it, and slid it back into the sheath.
"We rest briefly, then move immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Byakuya had deliberately allowed the break so Ryūhei could wrap his wounds.
He was just about to strap the sword across his back again when—
Behind you!
The voice that suddenly rang through his head made him whip around, only to see Kakashi staring at him with a puzzled look.
Was Kakashi the threat?
The thought had barely formed when Byakuya saw a shadow fall over the space behind Kakashi. The enemy they had assumed was unconscious had risen and was lunging at him with both arms spread.
"Damn it!"
He shoved Kakashi aside on instinct and reached for the sword at his back, only to grab empty air. His heart dropped, and he looked down at the blade in his own left hand.
Habit really is terrifying!!
The sword was already in his hand, but he had reflexively reached for his back, so of course there was nothing there.
The moment annoyance flashed across his face, the enemy behind him wrapped both arms around his waist and locked him down, pinning him in place.
He glanced to the side. Kakashi, who had been knocked away and fallen, was stumbling back to his feet in shock, lightning already forming in his hand. But because Byakuya and the enemy were pressed together, he could not charge in recklessly.
"Come die with me!!!"
The enemy's crazed scream rang in Byakuya's ear, and the grip around his waist tightened even more. A chill shot straight up his spine.
A suicide blast?
Was he trying to take them both with him?
Whatever it was, the man clearly meant to drag Byakuya into death with him. If this kept up, he really was going to die alongside him.
Byakuya clenched his teeth, yanked the blade fully out of its sheath, tossed the scabbard aside, and drew the sword back like he was about to drive it into his own stomach.
"Don't!!!"
Byakuya saw Kakashi reaching out toward him, but there was no stopping now.
He gritted his teeth harder and plunged the sword straight into his own chest.
"Gah...!!"
The long blade pierced clean through Byakuya's body and, at the same time, impaled the enemy behind him.
Blood ran down along the part of the blade that had passed through the enemy, dripping onto the back of Byakuya's hand.
Kakashi stared at the sight of Byakuya skewered together with the enemy and felt time stop for a single instant.
Given where the sword had struck, it would not have been strange for him to die on the spot.
Kakashi thought Byakuya was dead.
But Byakuya did not lose consciousness. Instead, he slowly, very slowly, pulled the blade back out.
At the same time, the enemy's arms fell away from his waist, and the body crumpled to the ground.
"The wound..."
Gone?
Kakashi stared at the place where the sword had passed through. There was not even a cut on Byakuya's chest.
That was when he remembered.
Byakuya was known for the Invincible Blade.
His sword did not just pass through other people's weapons. It could pass through his own body as well, striking only the enemy behind him.
Kakashi watched Byakuya calmly confirm that the enemy on the ground was dead, pick up the discarded scabbard, and then turn back toward them. The sheer composure on his face made Kakashi's eyes tremble.
How could he still be so calm after something that close to death?
Kakashi found it impossible to believe this was someone his own age.
The rest of the squad, just like Kakashi, were still frozen by the sudden turn of events, but Byakuya only spoke to them in the same flat tone as always.
"Break's over. We're heading back."
"Are... are you okay?!"
Ryūhei, who had been too stunned to move when it happened, finally rushed over and began checking Byakuya's chest again and again.
He had watched the sword go straight through his body.
And yet there was not a mark on him.
Relief flooded Ryūhei's face, but at the same time he clenched his fists in frustration over his own carelessness.
"I'm sorry... I should have kept a better watch on the prisoner..."
"Good. Then you know."
Then do your job properly next time.
Byakuya added the rest silently in his head before strapping the sword back across his back.
The truth was, his heart had very nearly stopped just now.
Byakuya himself did not understand why he had risked that much to save someone like Kakashi.
Why had he moved to save Kakashi without even thinking?
The instant he shoved Kakashi away and got caught by the enemy himself, regret had crashed over him all at once.
Even now, Byakuya still could not make sense of what he had done.
To be honest, that had been a complete gamble.
If he had lost focus for even a fraction of a second, if the space-time jutsu on the blade had failed for even an instant, the sword would have truly pierced his chest and killed him on the spot.
Byakuya could feel cold sweat soaking into his back, but he still forced himself to stay composed as he turned sharply away.
"We're going back."
If he stayed here any longer, his heart really might stop for real.
Right now, all Byakuya wanted was to get home and lie down, so he quickened his pace.
---
It was only after he finished reporting the mission to the Fourth Hokage and stepped outside that the tension in Byakuya's body finally broke.
His limbs felt weak, and all he wanted was to collapse into bed.
But the moment he turned around, he found Kakashi standing there, watching him.
"..."
"..."
Byakuya thought, If you have something to say, say it and get lost already, and so the two of them ended up locked in a pointless staring match.
After a moment, Kakashi spoke, hesitant.
"Why did you save me? If anything had gone wrong, you could've died."
Of course I know that, idiot!
You don't have to tell me. I know better than anyone that I was one step away from dying back there.
But there was no way he could follow Kakashi's line and admit something like, Yeah, I really almost died just now, my heart nearly stopped, my spine went cold, but I looked pretty cool, right?
There was no way he could say that out loud.
So while keeping his expression perfectly blank, Byakuya searched for something to say that would sound infuriating enough, villainous enough.
"Didn't you say you'd already lost all your comrades?"
"...!!"
"How stupid."
Byakuya threw out the one line most likely to cut Kakashi where it hurt, then turned away without changing expression.
A thought flickered through his mind. Had that been too harsh?
At the same time, he walked faster down the hall while nervously half-expecting a Chidori to come flying into his back at any second.
Still, so no one would notice he was basically retreating, Byakuya forced himself to look calm and unhurried, focusing carefully on each step.
Thankfully, no sound of Kakashi coming after him ever came.
No one stopped him.
And just like that, Byakuya made it safely out of the Hokage's office building.