Kuchiki Byakuya's pupils trembled.
His wife Hisana knelt on the tatami, her hands braced against the floor, her body bowed low and her shoulders trembling.
Heavy, thick Reiatsu filled the air, pressing on her back like invisible hands and leaving her unable even to raise her head.
"Hisana!"
A rarely heard note of panic entered Byakuya's voice.
He hurried over, but stopped three paces from his wife.
He could not touch her.
Or rather, he could not release Zetsu.
Hisana was an ordinary soul with an innately low spiritual pressure level. Simply managing to live in Seireitei was already her limit.
Now, this sudden eruption of Reiatsu, mingling the savagery of a Hollow with the refined pressure of a Shinigami, weighed down on her.
If he released his own Zetsu and unleashed his full captain-level Reiatsu to resist it, the backlash from the collision could crush Hisana's spiritual body in an instant.
Byakuya clenched his teeth. He bent down and, as gently as he could, slipped both hands beneath Hisana's arms and lifted her into his arms.
Hisana's body was limp, her eyes half closed and her breathing shallow. She was clearly on the verge of fainting.
Carrying her, he turned and rushed out of the room, reached the next door in a few strides, and pushed it open with his shoulder.
"Rukia!"
Inside, Rukia Kuchiki knelt beside a low table.
Her face was pale too, and fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, but at least she could still sit upright.
At his voice, she looked up and saw Hisana in Byakuya's arms, then immediately struggled to her feet.
"Brother! What's wrong with my sister?"
"She can't withstand the Reiatsu." Byakuya spoke quickly, but kept his voice steady.
"Rukia, can you move?"
"Yes!" Rukia nodded. Her small body swayed,