This chapter is a lot more chill. So yeah enjoy this one. Really had a lot of fun writing this chapter!
Enemies to Friends?
Rakurai manifests besides Yujiro's unconscious form in the city streets. Sounds of the ongoing fighting echoed throughout the fake city.
Rakurai felt proud of his wielder's performance in the battle today. Yujiro had come far from the average student he was in the academy.
Looking over his partner's injuries. They were pretty serious. While scared, Rakurai was ninety nine percent confident that Yujiro would make it out of here alive.
Yujiro had shown great promise today. While the currently unconscious Soul Reaper had a ways to go, his progression was outstanding.
Rakurai couldn't have asked for a better wielder.
Rakurai soon sits down. Watching over his master for what seemed like hours. Hoping that Sosuke Aizen would be beaten.
Hours pass and the battle in Fake Karakura Town soon dies down.
Rakurai's eyes widens upon seeing the mountains in the distance be obliterated. He can't sense any reiatsu.
"I hope that whoever is fighting is on our side, or else we're in big trouble." Rakurai thinks to himself.
A massive explosion follows soon after and then a huge wave of black energy travels across through the distance. Blocking out the sky for a few seconds.
"Just what the hell is going on?" Rakurai stares in amazement.
Everything seems to have calmed down. Becoming peaceful, or as peaceful as it could possibly be on a battlefield after fighting is done.
A few more minutes pass and the sound of footsteps from behind catches Rakurai's attention. Turning to see Kisuke Urahara. Rakurai then disappears knowing Yujiro is safe.
Yujiro opens his eyes. The sky is darkening. He tries to sit up and bites back a growl of pain. Placing a hand on his gut. Feeling bandages wrapped around his torso, arms, hands, shoulders, face and his forehead. "Damn. I feel like shit..." He rasps.
From his peripheral, he sees something lying on the floor. A note it seems. Yujiro reaches out and grabs it. Opening the letter.
"Heya! If you're reading this, it means that you're still alive!" Yujiro's eye twitches as he reads it. Already knowing who wrote it. "To answer your question, yes we won. Aizen is defeated!" Yujiro smirks at that. Letting out a sigh of relief.
"Ichigo managed to beat him. Sacrificing his Shinigami powers in the process. I'll explain those details later. Everyone is okay for the most part. Yoruichi is fine but she's unconscious at the moment. Captain Ukitake has a pretty serious wound but he'll make a full recovery. Same with Captain Kyoraku. The one with the most injuries though is old man Yama." Yujiro gulps as he stops reading for a second.
"The old man lost his arm in the battle. Listen, I know he accepted you back into the Gotei 13 after Rukia's botched execution, but there's still some tension between the both of you. I think today should teach you a lesson, talk to the old man and try and settle your differences. He's not as young as he used to be. You're going to regret it soon if you don't." Yujiro rolls his eyes as he reads that.
"Talk to the old man and settle your differences." Yujiro mocks Kisuke. Mimicking his voice. Somehow a bucket hat magically appears on his head for the moment. Using his hand as a mouth. "I'd rather go shopping with Matsumoto and eat Orihime's food in the same day than talk with that damn fossil again. I mean c'mon, the geezer has a couple hundred years left in him. Right? Sure as hell ain't going to die in combat either."
Yujiro resumes reading what's left of the letter. "By the way, you're not fully healed. I recommend going to see someone from squad four. Preferably Captain Unohana, or Lieutenant Isane." A chill shoots down his spine upon reading the squad four Captain's name.
A goofy little drawing of Kisuke's dumb ass face is drawn at the bottom of the letter. Giving a peace sign. Yujiro crumples up the letter and tosses it away. Reaching up towards his right shoulder, he tries to snag his gourd of sake for a drink.
"What the hell?" He questions and then remembers. "Right...My fight with the tercera Espada... Speaking of her, where is she?" He shakily stands back up. Reaching into his pocket and pulls out a lighter and a cigar.
"At least I can still smoke." He grins. Lighting his cigar and smoking it. "Now, where is she?" Yujiro senses spread out. Searching for her spiritual pressure.
His eyes drift off towards the alleyway across from him. Yujiro takes a step forward but feels sharp pain in his right leg. Causing him to hiss. "Ah. Crap. I put way too much into those last flash steps..." He limps to the dark alley. He can sense her presence. Her spiritual pressure is faint, but still there. Placing a hand on the wall for balance.
"Yujiro, what are you doing?" Asks Rakurai even if he already knew the answer.
"Looking for that Espada."
"Why?..."
"'Cause I don't like how our fight ended." Yujiro responds.
Yujiro hears Rakurai facepalm. The zanpakuto spirit clearly knew where this was going.
"You're healing an Arrancar, a Hollow for Christs' sake! Are you crazy? Why am I asking that? Of course you are."
Yujiro stops walking. Taking a moment to think before choosing to reply back to the spirit. "...Yeah she's an Arrancar but she's different. You saw how she acted when her friends' reiatsu just vanished suddenly."
"Friends who are also Arrancar." Rakurai points out.
"I would react the same way if Tessai, Yoruichi or Kisuke were cut down." Yujiro resumes his trail. "Well kinda. She kept her anger in check."
"What if she wakes back up and decides to kill you?"
"She offered me mercy multiple times. Doesn't that mean anything?"
Rakurai gives a tired sigh. "Fine. But if she wakes up and decides to kill you and any other Soul Reaper, just know that their blood is on your hands."
"Yeah yeah. Gimme a break."
Yujiro makes it into the alleyway. The darkness makes it hard to see. He keeps his senses sharp. Following her spiritual pressure. Reaching back into his pocket, he takes out the lighter again and uses it to light the way. It's not much but it offers a decent amount of visibility. He tries to speed up a little bit as he feels her reiatsu draw closer and closer.
Eventually he spots her. Lying on her back in a puddle of her own blood.
It's incredible that she managed to survive. After having such a difficult fight against him and being cut down by Aizen, most would be dead.
As he gets closer, the severity of her wounds become more apparent. The deep cut from Aizen, and the burns from Yujiro's lightning and Gran Rey Ceros we're not good. Her regeneration is the only thing that's keeping her alive. If she were to die, it'll be a slow agonizing death.
"Damn." He whispers.
Spreading out his senses once more. "Hmmm. Kisuke's kinda far. Unohana is also far away...thank God!...Anyone else in squad four?"
He focuses. Sensing Lieutenant Isane, but she's close to Captain Unohana. There was only one person left in squad four that he knew, kinda.
"What was his name? Hana...Ham-something...Uhhh"
"Hanataro..." Rakurai informs him.
"Oh right! The short lame dude." Yujiro senses Hanataro's reiatsu.
He's closer to him and the tercera Espada but not by that much.
Yujiro keeps his senses locked in on Hanataro and moves towards him. It seemed as if Hanataro wasn't moving. "Good. Must be healing someone." He reasons.
As he pressed forward, he momentarily checks in on Halibel's spiritual pressure, it's still faint but she's hanging on. Yujiro's path to the squad four medic felt almost endless. He doesn't know how long he's been walking. When he finally got to Hanataro, he found him finishing up healing a random Shinigami.
"Y-Yujiro! It's been a while." Hanataro smiles. Looking at the bandages he asks. "You want your injuries healed?"
Yujiro gestures for Hanataro to come over to him with his hand. The boy nods and jogs to him. Yujiro looks around, keeping his senses sharp. Leaning towards Hanataro and whispering. "I need healing but there's somebody else who needs it way more than me."
Hanataro nods in understanding.
"I'll tell you all about it on the way there, can you use flash step?"
"Uhhh. Yeah but it's not super fast or anything like that."
"Well so as long as you're faster than I currently am there's no issue." He slings his arm around the shorter Reaper. Giving him the directions. "Head north and stop by an alley close to a bookstore."
"Okay." Hanataro begins using his flash step.
"The person I need you to heal..." Yujiro begins telling him, keeping his voice low. "Is the tercera Espada."
"Wait what?!" Hanataro's eyes widen in shock as he stops for a moment. Clearly not expecting that bombshell.
"Shhh!" Yujiro hushes him. "Keep going don't stop."
"Uh o-okay..." Hanataro starts flash stepping again.
"She's the tercera Espada. Me and her fought. It was a really intense battle." Yujiro informs the shorter Shinigami. Taking a long drag from his cigar. Blowing out smoke. "She doesn't seem like a bad person though. Offered me mercy a few times and that bastard Aizen came in at the end of our fight and cut her down."
"I trust your judgement on this. I'll do it."
"Just in case though, if she wakes up and decides to go on a rampage, run away as fast as you can and tell anyone close by what's going on and I'll tell them that I healed her. Or you can tell 'em I forced you to do it."
"You...you don't need to do that."
"I do. If everything goes to shit and they find out that you healed her, you could end up in big trouble. I don't want that to happen to you. You don't deserve that. I already feel bad enough for dragging you into this."
"Well... we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Hanataro looks over at Yujiro. "How are you feeling though?"
"Like shit." Yujiro simply replies. Taking another drag from his cigar. His hand reaching for the cigar and removing it for a moment, blowing out smoke.
"I see..." Hanataro looks unamused with the answer. Staring up ahead Hanataro sees the bookstore. Spotting the alley to the left. "Right here?"
"Yes sir." Yujiro nods giving confirmation. Taking out the lighter again for visibility.
They stop by Halibel's unconscious body.
"There she is." Yujiro gestures to her with his head.
"Jeez. It's a miracle she's still alive. She's really strong for hanging on this long"
"Pfft. Tell me about. I fought her. She's number three for a reason. A very good reason." Yujiro snorts in slight amusement. Yujiro let's go of Hanataro and leans against the wall, sliding down it and sitting down. He looks over as Hanataro kneels down beside the tercera and reaches into his medical bag, laying out all the necessary equipment.
Yujiro says nothing as the boy begins healing the Espada. Not wanting to disturb his concentration. Wishing he had his sake with him.
"...Okay. After I close this wound everything else will be easy. With her regeneration, this'll be a little quicker than normal." A small smile makes it's way onto Hanataro's face and he begins healing her injuries.
Yujiro keeps his senses spread out. Keeping an eye out for any Shinigami that may give them trouble.
Yujiro reaches behind his back and removes Rakurai. Placing the twin blades on his legs. He reaches for one of them, slowly unsheathing it, stopping about halfway. Staring at his reflection in the blade.
"Damn, she really put up a fight huh?" He asks nobody in particular. Fully taking a look at himself.
"Your already developing a crush on her. With an Arrancar no less. Fantastic."
"A crush? Rakurai in case you missed it, me and her spent like a full hour trying to kill each other." Yujiro closes his eyes and smirks in amusement. Almost laughing. "What type of guy do you think I am? I will admit though, her taking two Gran Rey Ceros to the face and actually surviving was kinda hot."
"You had a crush on Yoruichi for quite some time and she did try and kill you during training sessions to bring out your potential." Rakurai rebuttals.
"I was still a kid at the time. The equivalent to a human teenager." Yujiro explains himself. "Besides what guy wouldn't think Yoruichi is attractive?"
"Alright." Hanataro says. Catching Yujiro's attention. "All done. She'll live. She just needs to rest."
"Thanks Hanataro. I owe you one." Yujiro smiles at the Shinigami.
"Now for your injuries."
"...I owe you two favors now..." Yujiro sighs.
"It's fine. It's part of my job after all." Hanataro replies. Bringing his supplies with him as he walks over to Yuji.
"I saw you leaning against the wall for support earlier. Your legs hurt?"
"Yeah. Towards the end of my fight with her, I started getting desperate. I might have put too much into my flash steps then." Yujiro frowns. Hating the feeling of looking weak.
"Hmm." Hanataro hums. He uses his hand and makes a circle with his thumb and pointer finger. Bringing his hand close to his face. The gap between the two fingers began glowing and he looked through the circle, looking at Yujiro's legs.
"Huh. I see it. Your muscles started tearing...it's not too bad though. How many times did you use flash step at the end?"
"Uhh I didn't keep count. It's definitely less than ten though. Like five maybe?" Yujiro answers.
"If you had used flash step like that more, the muscles in your legs would've been torn apart." Hanataro examines the other leg.
"Heh." Yujiro snickers. "Sure feels like they're torn apart."
"Just be glad they aren't. The pain would've been much worse." Hanataro begins healing his legs. A green glow coming from his hands.
Yuji shakes his head. "I don't wanna imagine that."
Hanataro does as much as he can to heal Yujiro's injuries. After his legs, was his hands, arms, torso and anything else that needed to be patched up.
"That's the best I can do for now. You won't be able to use flash step properly for three days. You can use it, but try not to overdo it please. And try not to do anything too strenuous for the next day or two. You can take your bandages off tomorrow." Hanataro tells him while packing up his things.
Yuji nods with a small smile. Feeling much better than he was he a while ago. "Right. Thanks again Hanataro."
"Take care of yourself Yujiro." Hanataro waves as he leaves.
"Will do." Yujiro watches Hanataro leave. "As long as the fossil doesn't fry me for saving an Espada"
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Oh stop bein' such a wuss about it will ya?" Yujiro says as he glares at the twin Zanpakuto.
"I'm just looking out for you. You're my master after all."
"I appreciate it. Really I do. But you're worrying about it too much." Yujiro takes a long drag from his cigar. Bringing his knees up. Resting his arms on them. "I couldn't have done it without you."
"You know, I don't believe I told you, just how proud I am of you." Rakurai says to Yujiro. "From barely making it out of the academy, to how clueless you were when you unlocked Shikai, to controlling your Hollow, to now Bankai. You've grown a lot."
"Looking back on everything, I have." Yujiro smiles to himself.
"I remember when you first obtained Shikai, you couldn't wield the blades at all. They always got stuck in a wall or smacked something without you intending to."
"Yeah go on. Tell me more." A smug smirk finds it's way upon Yujiro's face. "Tell me just how amazing I've become."
"Maybe I shouldn't. We don't need your ego to be inflated."
Yuji can only roll his eyes in response. "Way to ruin the fun."
"By the way..."
"Go on. I'm listening."
"I thought we agreed that you would never use Ka Juden unless you somehow gained better control of it."
"Rakurai..."
"That was our deal Yujiro. Ultimately it did more harm than good."
The elemental Shinigami remains silent. Knowing his Zanpakuto spirit is correct.
"Next time you use that technique should be when you've managed to control it better."
"I'll be more careful. I promise."
"Good. I'll hold you to that. This is your second chance, don't waste it."
"I won't."
Yujiro casts his gaze up at the night sky. Taking one final drag from his cigar. Feeling sad that it's gone. He reaches inside his pocket, finding one final cigar.
"Damn it." Yuji stares at it. Wondering if he should spark it now or later. As Yuji is pondering this, he hears some noises from where the tercera lays. Gazing over at her, he sees the Espada beginning to stir.
She slowly sits up, placing a hand on her head. "What...what happened?" She looks around and spots Yujiro. Cigar in his hand. An unreadable expression on his face. It's at that moment she remembers everything.
"You...You're that annoying Shinigami." She narrows her eyes.
"Aww is that what you think of me?" He pretends to sound offended. "Here I thought we became good friends after you tried killing me with a Cero Oscuras."
"You're no friend of mine Shinigami."
"Sheesh. They didn't joke around much in Hueco Mundo did they?" Yujiro quirks an eyebrow.
"I'm familiar with the concept of a joke." She answers with an attitude.
"Jesus Christ lady what're you so mad about?" Yujiro stares at her unamused.
"I have plenty of things to be angry at." Halibel clenches her fists. "Maybe I should have killed you." She sighs. Feeling annoyed.
"I told you!"
"Shut the hell up already!"
"Aw c'mon. You don't need to do that." He tries to play it off with a smirk. "And yeah you're right you do have plenty to be mad about. My apologies ma'am."
Tia looks around for a bit. "What happened to Aizen?"
Yuji smirks. "He lost."
Her eyes widen. Yujiro then realizes, for a mostly stoic woman, just how expressive her eyes were. Yujiro looks away quickly.
"Aizen lost?" She echoes. Still not believing it herself.
"If he won, I doubt anyone of us would be this calm." Yujiro says as he twirls the cigar around in his hand.
Behind her mask, Halibel smiles. Feeling relieved. "Good riddance."
She stands up and begins walking away.
"Uhh where're you going?" Yuji asks. Making her stop.
"To find my fraccion." She looks back at him.
"Uhhh you realize that this place is mostly crawling with Shinigami right? Looking for dead or injured squad members. If they find you it's not gonna end well." Yujiro warns her as he stands back up. Picking up Rakurai. Placing the blades on his back.
"I can take care of myself. I don't need your pity Shinigami."
"Wow you're a real joy to converse with y'know that? You treat everyone who saves your ass like this? Or am I just a special exception?" Yujiro replies back. Getting a little sick of her attitude.
"You...What?" She then feels the bandages around her torso. "You healed me?" Blinking in surprise.
Yujiro is silent for a moment. "Yeah. You're welcome by the way. Really appreciate your gratitude or lack thereof."
"...Why? I'm your enemy."
"Ehhh not anymore." He shrugs. "Besides Aizen deceived you just as he did us. Also, you and I got a score to settle."
"So that's why..." She draws Tiburón. "You want to brag to your friends in your division that you slain the tercera in combat."
"I just said you're not my enemy anymore... Jesus Christ lady, do you have selective hearing or some shit?" Yujiro facepalms. Dragging his hand down his face. "You don't wanna fight? Okay fine. I was just disappointed about how our battle ended. Anyways if you're going to look for your friends, then I can make sure that no Shinigami bother us. You offered me mercy a while ago remember? You didn't want to fight, well having me along can prevent that."
Tia squints her eyes. Weighing the options. "Fine." Clearly she's not happy about it. That didn't mean she wouldn't remain on guard though. She needed to be ready just in case he tires anything.
"Oh man. Did her friends survive? They fought Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto. I'm sure the old geezer joined in at some point to..." Suddenly finding himself nervous about her reaction.
"Well?" She snaps him from his thoughts. "Are you coming?"
Yuji nods and walks over to her. "We'll need a birdseye view. The geezer's Shikai must've left a huge crater in the ground." Yujiro looks around and points his finger in the direction of a skyscraper. "We should be able to see everything from up there. Be sure to mask your presence."
Tia offers no response as she uses her sonido. Causing Yujiro to sigh. Knowing it'll take him longer than usual to get there. Within a few seconds, he's right next to the Espada. On top of the skyscraper. Looking around. Tia goes over to the right, scouting it out. Yujiro turns around and walks over to the other side. Facing south. He squints his eyes and notices a large crater in the middle of the street. It's pretty far away from their current position.
"Think I found it." Yujiro calls out to her. Catching her attention. He raises his arm and points forward. "Over there. See that? That's gotta be it." She nods in response.
"You can't use your flash step as well as you were during our fight." Halibel points out.
"Huh?" Yujiro scratches the back of his head. "What're you talking about? I'm perfectly fine. Just a bit sore."
"At the beginning of our fight, your flash step was quicker than what it currently is now." Tia crosses her arms. "You're free to prove me wrong if you wish."
"You're free to prove me wrong if you wish." Yujiro mimicks her voice. Covering the bottom half of his face with his collar.
That earns him a death glare from the tercera Espada.
"I'll stop, I'll stop." Yujiro throws his hands up in defeat. A small smirk on his face.
Yujiro then decides to finally spark his cigar. "Yeah... you're right." Yujiro relents. "Almost tore my muscles from putting too much into my flash step at the end."
"And you tried to attack Aizen with a Gran Rey Cero after?" Tia shakes her head. "Reckless."
Yujiro glances at her. Releasing a humorless laugh. "What? Are you my mother?"
"If I were, I'd be extremely disappointed." Tia responds bluntly.
"She's cold!" Yujiro removes his cigar from his mouth. "Anyways, c'mon you wanted to save your friends right?"
Tia uses her sonido and Yujiro uses his flash step. Tia makes it down to the ground, waiting a few seconds for Yujiro's arrival. Yuji appears by her side, holding back a hiss of pain. She could see the look of discomfort on his face.
"You put too much into your flash step. Again." Tia places a hand on her temple. "It's not a race."
Yujiro feels the urge to mimick her again. But ultimately he decides against it. "Yes mother..."
"Are all Shinigami this prideful?"
"A good chunk of us are. It varies."
"Idiots."
"Most of 'em sure are." Yujiro says. "Shall we get going?"
Tia nods and they make their way to the crater. Keeping an eye out for Soul Reapers in the area.
They stop in front of the massive crater. Yujiro could sense the lingering reiatsu of Yamamoto. Even so, he didn't need to. The sheer heat was unmistakable.
"Yeah. This is definitely the geezer's work." Yujiro wipes sweat from his face. "To think this is just with his Shikai." His eyes narrow slightly.
Tia says nothing as she descends down into the crater. Hearing all the information that she needed.
Yuji stays still for a moment. Trying to remember the reiatsu of Halibel's companions. Yamamoto's lingering reiatsu is interfering with his senses. If Halibel's friends are still alive, then he can't sense them. "Even when you're not here, you cause me trouble. Stupid old man."
Yujiro flash steps down. Searching through the rubble. The tercera Espada paying him no mind. Focusing only on finding her fraccion.
Yujiro doesn't know how long they've been searching for. Frankly, he's beginning to lose hope at this point. All the rubble He had searched through and found nothing. Since she hasn't uttered a word since starting, he can only assume that she hasn't found them either. He considers them lucky that no other Soul Reaper has shown up yet.
Tia hears him hiss in pain, her eyes drift over to him. Watching him struggle with a large piece of rubble. She feels a small pang of guilt. In his condition he shouldn't be doing this. She releases a breath and stands up, walking over to him.
"...You don't need to help with the search." Tia tells him as she crouches down beside him. "You've done enough already. I'm in far better shape than you."
Yujiro scoffs. "...I don't need your pity Espada." The look on his face says that he was just waiting for the chance to use her words against her.
Halibel rolls her eyes. "Just shut up and let me help. It's obvious that you're in no shape for this. I don't want to hear your screams of agony when your wounds open up again."
A vein throbs in Yujiro's forehead as he grits his teeth. Giving her a glare. "Why you..." He lets it go seconds later. "Fine..."
Tia grabs onto the piece of debris while Yujiro adjusts his grip. They slowly lift the large piece of rubble. Finding a bunch of ash. Yuji's heart sinks into his stomach. Fearing her reaction.
Tia grabs a small piece of debris and crushed it by balling her hand into a fist. Yujiro looks away. Assuming that she most likely wouldn't appreciate any unwanted attention at the moment.
"...I knew it." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
Yujiro feels a bit guilty. Clearly this wasn't the reaction of some heartless monster. Not a Hollow. Nothing like what he'd been taught.
"You're not angry at me?" Yuji asks her.
Halibel gives him a questioning look.
It takes a moment for Yujiro to gather his thoughts to form his next sentence. "I'm the grandson of the geezer. You don't want revenge or anything like that?"
"No." The blonde Arrancar replies. Shaking her head. "You're not guilty just for simply being a relative. When we joined Aizen, accepted the power he gave us, we knew that this was possibly how it would end for some of us."
"...Well..." Yujiro begins. "I am sorry for your loss." He bows.
Tia doesn't know what to make of the situation.
Thinking over his next few words very carefully, he starts speaking again. "They were slain by Zanpakuto. Their souls have been purified and are allowed to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Hopefully their next life, is far more peaceful."
"Hopefully." Tia agrees.
They're both silent for a moment. Tia takes a deep breath and begins speaking after fighting to get the words out. "...Thank you. For your assistance and for saving me, Yamamoto."
"Ugh." Yujiro grimaces. "If you're not going to call me Inazuma, you can call me Yujiro or Yuji y'know."
"You abandoned your surname?" She asks out of curiosity.
Yujiro nods. "Far as I'm concerned, the egg headed geezer can fuck off."
It's at that very moment they feel the presence of someone beside them.
To Yujiro it's unmistakable. He recognizes this presence very well. The young Shinigami casts a tired gaze over to his left. As if this had happened a thousand times before.
Both Yujiro and Tia cast their eyes on the Head Captain of the Gotei 13, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. Yujiro notices that the old man is missing his arm. He decides to ignore it for now.
"Here we fuckin' go..." Yujiro suppresses an eye roll.
Tia clenches her fists tightly as she stares at the one who killed Mila Rose, Apacci, and Sung-Sun.
"Is there a particular reason why an Espada is here with you at the moment, Yujiro Inazuma Yamamoto?" Asks the elder Shinigami. His eyes closed, hand planted firmly on the cane in front of him.
"She's looking for her comrades. She wishes to find them and retreat to Hueco Mundo." Yujiro states. Trying not to sound bothered with the use of the surname and Yamamoto's impeccable timing.
The strict Captain Commander says nothing. Standing there like a statue.
"Retreat to Hueco Mundo?" The wielder of Ryujin Jakka echoes. "She is an enemy of the Soul Society. Part of the traitor, Sosuke Aizen's army." Yamamoto says simply.
"The war is over. She's offered me mercy multiple times. Aizen is defeated, and she just wants to reunite with her comrades. As a warrior yourself, someone who has been through war before, you can't offer her that?"
Yamamoto's hand grips his cane tighter. "We cannot simply let her go. She is still a Hollow, an Arrancar. She will be taken to the Seireitei, while I discuss with Central 46 how to proceed."
Yujiro clenches his teeth. Biting through his cigar. "Oh C'mon! That's not fair! Didn't Izuru Kira assist Gin!? And yet he, suffered no consequences! She hasn't killed anyone of us and yet you want to throw her in a cell and potentially execute her!? Aizen betrayed them to y'know! This is bullshit old man and you kn-"
"Silence!" He opens his eyes and slams his cane down into the ground. Cutting Yujiro's rant off. A small crater forming beneath the cane. The floor rumbling.
"She will be taken to Soul Society. What happens next is up to Central 46 and myself." Yamamoto turns around. Most likely to open up the Senkaimon.
Tia is left stunned by the display. She hadn't expected Yujiro to argue on her behalf like that.
Yujiro is left growling. "Careful old man." He mutters. Reaching down for a small piece of debris. "I can hear your joints creaking."
Tia watches as Yuji draws his arm back for a throw.
Suddenly what feels like a massive weight slams on top of him, making him drop the debris. Forcing him to kneel underneath the immense spiritual pressure from his grandfather. Cracking the ground beneath him. Yujiro was left struggling to breathe.
Yamamoto walks over to him. Slamming his cane in front of Yujiro's face. "Disrespectful, arrogant, childish, rebellious, inexperienced and recklessness are all reasons why you were never fit for the position of Head Captain." Yamamoto eases up in the pressure. Letting Yujiro finally breathe. Yamamoto turns around, opening a Senkaimon to the Soul Society.
Tia was absolutely shocked by the display of power. Further reinforcing why the old man was Head Captain.
Yujiro was catching his breath. Slowly he looks up and glares hatefully at the leader of all Shinigami. "You're no better. You may be the strongest Soul Reaper, but you'll lead the Gotei 13 into stagnation and decay with your outdated thinking. Uncle Jushiro or Shunsui are far better for that job than either of us are..."
Yujiro hears the footsteps of Tia next to him. He looks over to see her reaching out. Finding himself a little surprised by her gesture. "Are you okay?"
Yujiro accepts the gesture and grasps her hand, allowing her to pull him up. "Never felt better." He plays it off with his trademark smirk. Dusting himself off. "Sorry you had to see all that..."
With the Head Captain close by, she isn't sure she should chide him on what he was about to do. She isn't sure how to reply either. "It's fine, I guess..."
"Come." Yamamoto orders as the Senkaimon opens.
Yujiro and Tia walk forward, following the Head Captain. Yujiro looks back at the ash. Making a mental note to come back for it later. If it's still there.
I didn't know if I should've kept Halibel's fraccion alive or kill them again. I do think letting them die offers Yujiro and Tia to have some nice moments so that's why I killed them off once more. I'll be back when the next chapter is ready! Stay safe and have a wonderful day!