So while Sora, Ichigo, and Uryu were getting jumped... yes, jumped—despite having the number advantage, they were the ones getting jumped. Do not ask how this was possible, it just was, and there was really nothing they could do about it.
Sora had started going all out, yet he was a bit busy protecting Ichigo and Uryu from Aizen. It seemed like he needed them for something, and it showed in the way he would stop an attack if it meant he could keep them from dying.
Meanwhile, somewhere else on the battlefield—
Orihime could be seen still healing Nemu. The wound seemed to be quite bad, but she was doing it. Unohana had hopped off before they reached the Royal Palace; she was currently healing the captains of the Gotei 13 who had gotten beaten... like badly.
As in, some of them may have lost limbs. As for the Captain Commander, he got it worse. While the others had gotten one-shotted, he got two-shotted, so he had to tank two light swings of Aizen's blade.
Yeah, he, in fact, could not handle all that.
Just like Miss Invisible cannot handle Mister Fantastic. Man could stretch miles and yet people think he's the one who cannot handle all of that—as if they could handle that.
Byakuya, meanwhile, could be seen next to Rukia. The realm began shaking. Hm. What seemed to be a hole in the dimension of the world appeared—the clash happening in the Royal Palace must have been quite intense.
Byakuya did not attempt to go there. The reason was simple: he would be more of a liability than anything else.
He wasn't on that tier of power yet. The best he could do was stay put.
He was next to his sister. Rukia seemed a bit worried—well, her boyfriend was fighting up there. Byakuya had, for the most part, accepted Sora as his sister's boyfriend. He had tested the boy and found nothing wrong with him... for the most part.
Like, maybe sure, he wasn't all there in the head, and maybe he was a bit too... himself for Byakuya's liking. But deep down, he was good. Byakuya was glad his sister found someone, even if he may or may not have contemplated killing the man in his sleep.
Chances were, though, Sora was stronger than him. Even when they first met, Byakuya could roughly sense it. When the boy got slightly angry that his cousin got hurt, his Reiatsu had flared just for an instant, and without any conscious thought, Byakuya's body acted on its own and he released his Bankai.
And from that point onward, during Soul Society, he didn't really do much. He was being healed. The damage he received, even while the boy was holding back, was pretty severe, so he kind of just watched as the boy raised hell to rescue Rukia.
He might've made it easier on him, but the boy seemed to have his head on his shoulders. The one thing that slightly annoyed him was the fact that he had the sneaking suspicion that Sora had banged his sister while they were out.
He had no proof, but he just felt like it had happened. Even if everything pointed elsewhere, he just felt it in his bones. Call it his bro-con.
This boy was a prodigy—that was a fact he could tell.
Suddenly, his senses would activate. Without wasting even a single second, he appeared in front of Rukia, shielding her as what seemed to be a sword was parried away.
Byakuya was pretty protective. Rukia was surprised—she didn't even realize she was attacked until now.
"Sharp as always, Captain Kuchiki," the voice of a snake-like person could be heard.
It was Gin, in all of his snaky glory.
Thinking about it more deeply, he was probably, in fact, the most devoted man/simp alive. Going 100 years trying to kill a man because he stole something from your shawty is crazy determination, but whatever works.
"Gin," Byakuya's voice seemed to drip with disdain. Hm, this man did not play about his little sister.
"My, why the hostile glare for, Captain Kuchiki?" the man said as if he hadn't just tried to kill Rukia like 5 seconds ago. Truly, he was a man of a kind. No one could outmatch his bullshit skill—no one not named Sora, to be exact.
"Brother... I am okay," Rukia said once she realized Byakuya was holding her a bit too tight. Byakuya let go of his little sister—well, at least she was okay. If even a single hair on her head was hurt, he may or may not have lost it.
"Hello there, Rukia-chan," Gin said with a smile. Rukia felt as if a snake had made its way to her neck... no. She refused—she refused to be scared like last time.
A/N Gin did not break her like he did in canon in this as Sora rescue her in advance, as in, he did so about a day or two before time, and Gin was elsewhere due to Aizen needing to speed up his plan.