About Gods of Death and Onis

"Identify yourself!"

Demanded one of the hooded ones, the one Issei guessed was the group's leader, with his pistol pointed at the sekiryuutei.

"Nah, thanks. But who are you guys?"

The leviathan says unconcerned, as he answers the question with a question of his own.

However, what stunned the three was that the brunette was no longer among them. Issei's voice came from the side, and when the leader turned his face he saw Issei's face staring at him.

"Shi-"

One of the lackeys tried to fight back, drawing his katana to attack the sekiryuutei. Issei just blinked and stretched out his left hand, moving his index and middle fingers to grip and break the tip of the sword. Then he turns his hand and throws the tip of the blade at the man's neck.

The tip of the katana goes through his neck out to the other side, causing a spurt of blood to come out of the two holes. However, before a single drop landed on the ground, Issei pointed at the dead body, causing blue fire to erupt from his fingertip, covering the whole body.

It was a single blast of flame, and yet everything, the body, the blood, the weapons, turned to ash and vanished in the night wind.

The blue flame raised the temperature at the top of the building, but for the remaining two, the heat was nonexistent, their bodies cold from the terror the stranger had instilled in them with few moves.

Their first instincts were to run, but before they could even turn around a colossal pressure descended, both on their bodies, minds, and souls. The one who wasn't the leader fainted while the leader himself just didn't pass out because Issei stopped using his conqueror's haki before that.

Even so, the leader felt his limbs weak and soft like gelatin, he no longer had the strength or will to resist.

"Let's go."

Issei catches the man by his collar, as the Boosted Gear manifests in his left hand. The leader has a brief moment of shock, finally realizing that he was standing in front of this generation's Red Dragon Emperor. That said, he couldn't understand what the sekiryuutei was doing here, as they had no connection with the hakuryuukou.

ADJUSTMENT: 200! BOOST!

The words that were announced by the Gear made the leader even more confused, but he didn't have time to consider it.

One of the abilities of aura was to read the minds or actions of other beings, so using a Boost with the value of 200, Issei gained the ability to directly enter his target's mind, seeing all the information he needed. That said, because of its intrusive nature, the leviathan didn't use this ability very often.

'Let's see...'

With a thought he entered the hooded one's mind, envisioning his secrets and goals.

A few moments passed and blood began to flow from the leader's eyes. It was one of the side effects and one of the reasons Issei avoided using this skill too often, as those with weaker minds could simply break.

However, after seeing everything he needed to there was no remorse in the sekiryuutei's eyes, just silent rage. Without thinking twice he also burned the leader's body to nothing.

"Tsk, shit..."

Looking around, Issei took a deep breath to calm himself down and think a bit about what he should do.

'Ise-kun, I think it's best now to find your friend and Cyn-chan to understand what is going on with him. I highly doubt that this group of exorcists will act again tonight after things ended like this. You could call Apple and have her keep an eye out here, what do you think?'

Seeing that Issei was undecided, Elsha advised him, and the sekiryuutei didn't have to consider much to make his decision.

'Thank you El-chan.'

He thanks her, making the blonde smile in his headspace.

Placing his thumb and index finger of his right hand in his mouth, Issei whistles. For a normal person, there didn't seem to be any sound coming out, but that didn't bother the sekiryuutei. He just sat and waited.

Not long after, his wait was rewarded when a red snake appeared, having climbed through the building's vent.

"Did you call, boss?"

The snake asks, which Issei understands thanks to the Voice of All Things. If the remaining hooded man had been awake he would have only heard the snake hissing as Issei spoke to it as if she was a person.

"I want you to keep an eye on that house, to see if one of these shows up. If it appears, whistle for me, and stop them."

He explains, placing his foot on top of the remaining one so that Apple can recognize their outfit.

"Okay, but what I do with this guy?"

She asks with obvious intentions.

"Do as you wish."

The sekiryuutei answers, already at the border of the building. He didn't need to look to know that Apple had licked her lips and headed towards the human, having just secured her dinner for the night.

Trusting that the snake would be enough to guard against any threat to the Kamado, Issei disappeared from the top of the building, returning to his friends.

[...]

After leaving Orihime at home, and in the process Tatsuki pushed her friend, making Ichigo hold her, much to the strangeness of the orange-haired. Then they left Tatsuki at her home, who in turn said goodbye smiling and lightly hitting her fist on Issei's chest.

And now, Issei, Cynthia, and Ichigo found themselves in the same park where they used to play as children.

Ichigo was scratching his cheek, trying to think of how to start the subject. He knew that Issei, and probably Cynthia, were part of the supernatural world, but being a novice to the subject, he had no idea how to approach the conversation.

"I'm a dragon."

It was the first thing Issei said as soon as they sat down.

Cynthia wasn't surprised and laughed at how direct Issei was, while Ichigo was clearly stunned. He blinked several times at his childhood friend, absorbing the information.

"Wait. Say that again, please."

In the end, Ichigo asks, wanting to be sure of what he heard.

In response, Issei looks around. To the orange-haired, it looked like he was checking if there was anyone around, which there wasn't, but Issei was also checking presences and trying to see if anyone was watching them or heading that way.

Upon making sure everything was good Issei held up his left arm for Ichigo to see. His arm was taken over by blue scales, his hand took on a reptilian appearance and his fingernails were replaced by long black claws.

Ichigo stared at the transformation in amazement, not sure how he was supposed to react. That said, the shock he felt was not as big as he thought it should be. The biggest factor was just the surprise of seeing his friend's transformation, rather than the fact that he could actually transform.

Facing hideous monsters and having received powers from a supposed goddess of death must have helped Ichigo with that.

"Can you do this with your whole body?"

It was the first question that came to Ichigo's head.

"Of course."

Issei explains with a smile, making his arm revert to human form.

"But if he goes into full form, well, let's just say the city would probably go up in the air... or the sea."

Cynthia said jokingly and confusing Ichigo at the same time. It was just more stuff to ask about later.

However, now that the blonde had said something, the substitute shinigami couldn't help but look at her curiously.

"And you happen to be a dragon too?"

"Fufufu, no, but we can say that I'm not human either. That said, I'm a little more complicated to explain than Ise."

One of the most intriguing discoveries that Vegapunk made was about the difference between what are considered to be humans from the original world the Straw Hats come from and normal humans from other worlds. When comparing the Lineage Factor of both, the scientist noticed something curious, the humans from Straw Hats' original world had a significant amount of genetic difference compared to humans of other worlds, which would explain the lack of people like Whitebeard or Big Mom in those other worlds.

And Cynthia's case, being the daughter of Sanji, a genetically modified being, and Pudding, a triclops, she really couldn't be considered human.

At the moment though, that was too much information for Ichigo, so it was best to share one thing at a time.

"I understand."

Ichigo replied, scratching his head. Truth be told, he was a lot less shocked than he thought he should be.

"My turn, huh?"

He asks, with a weak smile, and then pulls something out of his pocket, a small candy dispenser. But with their observation haki, Issei and Cynthia knew that it wasn't just a candy, as they felt the presence of a soul there.

The couple watches, and as soon as the candy enters Ichigo's mouth, they see the orange one being thrown back, but now with a black kimono and a large heavy sword at his waist.

And besides that, there was now a "second" Ichigo, who was in the original one's body and looked between the real one and Issei and Cynthia, not knowing what to say.

"SO COOL!"

Issei yelled as he practically jumped out of his chair, his eyes shining like stars. He jumped to Ichigo's side and looked his friend up and down.

"You can transform! Like me and Cynthia!"

The sekiryuutei says, laughing and clapping his friend on the back.

"Heh, I think so."

Issei's reaction put a smile on Ichigo's face. After days of having to hide his new powers and what he was doing, it was quite satisfying to share this with friends who could understand what he was going through.

"Mr. Ichigo, are you sure that Ms. Rukia would approve of you sharing that you are a shinigami?"

That thing in Ichigo's body spoke with remarkable anxiety.

"Possession technique?"

Cynthia asks curiously, noting that what came out was Ichigo's soul. This magic seemed a bit useful, especially for keeping it a secret while he needed to get out for whatever it was he got himself into.

"Something like it, I guess?" Ichigo replies, ignoring his double and not being sure of his own words. "Anyway, Kon, be quiet and I'll talk to Rukia later."

He declares, returning to his body, as he has already shown them enough. Issei and Cynthia notice that as soon as the original soul returns, the candy that Ichigo had eaten jumps out of his mouth, for him to catch, and put back in the dispenser.

"Rukia? Is this by any chance the new student Tatsuki was talking about?"

Cynthia asks after hearing the name repeated a few times. In response, Ichigo sighs and nods.

"It's a long story."

"Do you have time to tell?"

Issei asks, returning to the seat next to Cynthia.

Ichigo sees the time, noting that it was still seven-forty pm. He luckily didn't have any messages from Rukia, but he did from his sisters. Quickly replying that he would be out for a little longer, he turns his attention to his childhood friends.

"A bit."

[...]

"And now I work for her for free. Doing her job! And she still eats my food!"

Finishing recounting the events leading up to gaining his powers, Ichigo slams the table, irritated by the payments for his job, or lack thereof.

"Shinigami, huh? He didn't think it was so easy to create gods."

Cynthia murmurs thoughtfully.

"Heh, I don't feel like a god or anything." Ichigo replies ironically, opening his arms and looking at them. "If I'm feeling like anything, it's an unpaid worker… or an intern, pretty much the same thing."

Despite laughing at his joke, unfortunately, Issei and Cynthia don't seem to notice it.

"God of death? Well, that's a bit ironic. Although our friendship with Uncle Susanoo is ironic too."

Issei talks to himself, crossing his arms, reflecting on the fact that his family, the D. were originally enemies of the gods while maintaining positive relations with all the gods he has encountered in this world so far.

Susanoo?"

Hearing the name of the god of storms, Ichigo thought he was mistaken, but the fact that Issei just casually nodded and Cynthia looked at him, not seeming to understand his confusion, said everything he needed to know.

"I have so many questions."

He finishes by saying, massaging his forehead.

"Chichichi, do you have time?"

Seeing his cell phone again, and noting that nearly twenty minutes had passed, Ichigo shook his head.

"If I take a little longer, it is possible for my father and my sisters to start a search through the whole city."

And he didn't seem to be kidding.

"We can talk more tomorrow then."

Cynthia proposes, to which Ichigo nods in agreement.

"Give me your guys' numbers."

He says, taking out his cell phone.

"I don't have one of those."

"We still need to arrange it."

And this is the response of the brunette and the blonde, respectively. Ichigo blinks a few times, not expecting that. In the end, he just sighs and puts his phone away.

"Let's meet tomorrow morning at Tanjiro and Nezuko's house. We'll have time to talk later."

The mention of the Kamado causes Issei's attitude to change. It was subtle, but his expression became more serious and even his posture underwent slight changes. While this went unnoticed by Ichigo, Cynthia noticed something wrong with her boyfriend.

"What's the problem?"

"It's about Nezuko and Tanjiro."

Cynthia tilts her head curiously and Ichigo furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"When I went back I didn't go to their house. When we were there I noticed three guys were watching them from the building across the way."

The blonde didn't seem surprised by that, having already taken note of those presences herself. She knew this was what Issei was dealing with when he momentarily broke away from the group.

"What?!"

Ichigo, however, was taken by surprise.

"They were exorcists."

Issei elaborated further.

It was Cynthia's turn to frown and it was Ichigo's turn to be even more confused. Rukia hadn't formally introduced him to the supernatural world, but knowing the existence of devils, the existence of exorcists who were active in the supernatural was only logical.

"What would exorcists want with them?"

Cynthia questions with confusion.

"From what I saw with one of the exorcists, apparently both are descendants of Onis."

A glint of clarity passed in the blonde's eyes. Since childhood, the two always felt something different about the pair brother and sister, and even after asking Ddraig he only explained that there was a possibility that they were descended from youkais, but they never got to know what kind. At least until now.

"What did you do with them?"

Ichigo asks, glaring at Issei.

"Got rid of."

He doesn't elaborate further, but Ichigo already had his answer. He wasn't sure how he should react to knowing that his friend had killed, but his actions as a Shinigami had sensitized him to violence recently. And to top that, the fact that they were stalking the Kamado showed

they had no good intentions. He didn't feel too conflicted about the death of someone who wanted to hurt his friends.

"From the way you're talking, does it seem like there's more of them?"

After collecting his thoughts, Ichigo asks seriously. After all, if Issei had already dealt with the problem, he wouldn't be bringing it up.

"From what I managed to... get from one of them, there must be at least seven more, no, five more out there. I have Apple, my snake, watching, so they must be safe for now."

Deciding to ignore, at least for the moment, that Issei supposedly had a snake as a pet that he left behind to protect the Kamados, Ichigo nodded, trusting his friend.

"Ok, let's keep an eye out tomorrow in case something happens." Ichigo speaks, while he sighs and gets up from the chair. "I need to go now, if anything happens… yeah… let's hope it doesn't."

He ends by saying, remembering that they don't have cell phones.

"See you tomorrow."

Cynthia speaks in farewell.

"If you need help with the hollows... just... just call?"

That makes Issei decide that they should probably have cell phones soon.

"Sure, thanks."

Ichigo finishes by saying, already walking out of the park.

"Well, let's go meet Apple, and if everything is fine, time to go home."

"Fufufu, sounds great."

[...]

Outside of Kuoh, away from the senses of the devils, Rukia, and even Issei, in the middle of one of the forests that surrounded the city, a shadow of a tree stirred. The shadow rose as if it was a liquid substance that something was trying to get rid of, and at last, two people came out of said shadow.

Both looked the same as the other exorcists, except that one carried a gas mask attached to an oxygen tank.

"What it is?"

The one with the oxygen mask asks, after taking it off. His partner was watching something on his phone, which he assumed were notifications.

"Two entire groups were wiped out, of which only zero-six survived and seems traumatized."

That alerts the other one.

"Were we discovered by the devils?"

"It's a possibility to consider." He answers, nodding his head. "But, in the shadows of Night Reflection they cannot sense the presence of our Sacred Gears, so the others should be safe. It's a bit worrying, but the operation remains the same, I'll just give orders that there are no more for today."

"But tomorrow..."

"We will finish what was not done years ago."


There is still things to be explained about Nezuko and Tanjiro, Issei wouldn't get all information from a random lackey either way.

I hope next chapters have more things going on, but I can't make much promises.

And the reason they didn't say everything to Ichigo it was both lack of time and the fact that they didn't want to throw a lot of information at him, especially that they noticed he wasn't informed about what a Sacred Gear is. (Rukia just told him as much as in canon, plus that all the Supernatural is real, plus about the devils in Kuoh.)

Reviews are appreciated.