Chapter 249: Squad 0
(Ryoto's pov)
Ichibei was about to explain to me their reason for calling me here. I was still on edge because of the sudden 'attack', but I could do nothing but listen.
"You see, Kirio Hifikune here was given a proposal to become a member of Squad 0, and she accepted. Today, we came down to Soul Society to get her to Royal Palace, but we have a secondary objective." The monk pointed at me. "You, Ryoto Yuuki. You are an enigma."
Hearing him saying that wasn't good, but he was still acting happy-go-lucky, so maybe there's still a chance.
"In what way?" Better ask so I won't share too much information.
"Your Zanpakuto is very strange. It wasn't created here, and I wasn't the one to give it a name. Knowing that it is connected to you, I must ask you." He turned serious. "What are you?"
Now, what should I do? I do something wrong, and he kills me or, if I'm lucky, just erases my name.
"Would you believe me if I said that explaining it would be difficult, but I can promise that it and by that also I am not a danger to Soul Society?"
Ichibei nodded his head as his seriousness faded away in an instant.
"Works for me."
... I'm confused, and it was probably showing as Ichibei started answering some of my questions.
"When you live as long as I do, you learn a thing or two. You may be a great liar and control your body to the extent that it's impossible to distinguish truth from a lie, but in front of a monk, who calls the real name, words reveal their true meaning."
In short, he can tell when I lie, but he doesn't care since I didn't lie when I said I'm not a danger to Soul Society, so it gave me some credibility. It didn't ease my nervousness, though.
"So, what now?"
"Now it's my turn, Ryo-chan!"
A dark-skinned man with thick black hair and sunglasses jumped in front of me, giving me a nickname that I despise at this point.
Oetsu Nimaiya, the creator of Zanpakuto.
"You see, Ryo-chan, your Zanpakuto is a mystery. As I-chan said before, your partner wasn't created here, but for some strange reason, it feels like one of my creations. Do you know why that is?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself."
Which is true. I only know that I should get Zangetsu, but I got a Asauchi with Zangetsu's spirit, and I got a bonus to boot. I don't have any idea why Oetsu feels like it's his own creation besides the idea that it's a Zanpakuto and is a perfect copy of what he would create.
Ichibei didn't say anything, so he probably didn't find any lies in my words.
"I see..." Oetsu said as he rubbed his chin, trying to think of an explanation for this mystery. "Can I take a look at it?" He asked after thinking for a short while.
I really didn't want to part away with Zangetsu and Gyaku in case something went wrong, but I was more than aware that they don't need to use underhanded tactics like that to defeat me, so I handed him my Zanpakuto, which he quickly took and started examining it.
"Hmm... Interesting... It's made exactly like I would make it, and I can even feel it, but I already knew that. What's more interesting is that it has two spirits inside it, but they aren't integrated with each other the way they should, not that I know how it should be since its never happened before. These are dual blades, but there is always a single spirit... Hmm..."
He was carefully analyzing my blade.
"That's not right... Hey, Ryo-chan, care to demonstrate your Zanpakuto mastery?"
I raised my eyebrow as I got my sword back.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked. I wasn't sure if he wanted to have a spar or a small demonstration.
"Release you, Shikai, first."
I did as he instructed and released Zangetsu, and he observed carefully.
"Now, do your second Shikai."
I sighed.
So, he knew even that. I should expect it from the creator of Zanpakuto. I didn't see any reason to pretend to be oblivious about it, so I did as I was told. I returned Zangetsu back to a simple sword and released Gyaku's Shikai.
"Reveal all truth and hide all lies, Gyaku Hansha."
A single sword spilt into two almost identical ones. The only difference was that the one in my right hand had a reversed blade. At the same time, the one in my left was an ordinary Zanpakuto without any unusual features if you don't count some Kanji on the handle, which would translate to 'Attack', 'Defend', and 'Counterattack'.
I rested one of the swords on my shoulder.
"Here you go. I didn't show Gyaku to anyone besides my lovers, and I would appreciate it if you didn't share this knowledge with anyone outside this room for obvious reasons. I don't want to have any more eyes on me than there already are."
"No problemo, Ryo-chan." Oetsu finger-gunned at me. "Now, can you return it to Zangetsu?"
Just like before, I returned my Zanpakuto to its base form and released Zangetsu.
"I see, I see... I can see the problem, yo! I can just feel inspiration coming into me!" Oetsu announced loudly.
Problem? What kind of problem can he mean? I didn't encounter any issues during my training.
"You see, Ryo-chan, your Zanpakuto is indeed unique. It's one of a kind, and I doubt I'll see another like yours for the rest of my time, but there's one issue with it. It's too separated when it shouldn't be. You don't think of it as a Zanpakuto but two Zanpakutos, which isn't the case. Just like you can go from the base form to Bankai by skipping Shikai, you can go from Zangetsu to Gyaku Hansha without reverting back."
This gave me something to think about. Gyaku mentioned before to me that Zangetsu is more of Ryoto's Zanpakuto, and she is Jacob's. Still, both of them started existing before I accepted myself as myself, so it was natural for my power to diversify into a set, but now it doesn't make sense. I will need to look into it later.
*CLAP*
Ichibei clapped his hands loudly to gather everyone's attention.
"We got what we wanted and satisfied our curiosity, and since Ryoto isn't any danger to the Soul King, it's time to return. We can't leave our post for too long." He said with an authoritative tone while still sounding cheerful.
I somehow survived this whole ordeal, and I don't know why I am still alive. Thankfully, I was deemed not a danger.
After all that, I congratulated Hifikune for her promotion while she asked me to watch over Hiyori whenever I could. It's not like we were close or anything like that. We had a cooking competition or two, but that's just that.
I said that I would try to, and I felt terrible for lying to her, but it is what it is. I'll look after her for the time she is in Soul Society.
Now that it was time for their departure, Ichibei picked up the unconscious member who tried to spook me and still didn't wake up until now. It seems Ichibei smacked him really hard.
Well, I'm alive, and Squad 0 isn't after my ass, so I count it as a win.
After a stressful afternoon like that, I decided to take the rest of the day off, and I'm going to ignore that I was already skipping work before training with Gin as an excuse.
(3rd's pov)
The Squad 0 returned to the Royal Palace with their new member, and before they returned to their own. It was also the moment that Tenjiro Kirinji 'woke up'. While he was unconscious, he was still aware of his surroundings. Even after waking up, he was mostly quiet, which was pretty unusual for him.
"Was it really a good idea to let him go?" Tenjiro finally asked.
It was a solid question to ask. Ryoto was a big unknown and possible danger to the Soul Society based on two Zanpakuto spirits alone. It was easy to deduct that if he had two Shikais, there was a possibility for him to possess two Bankais, which was unheard of.
Even Yamamoto, while possessing four different abilities in his Bankai, still revolved around a fire, and even with this limitation, he could destroy Soul Society if he wished. This was a situation where one person could wield two different Bankais, which was unheard of.
"We are not meddling with Sereitei. That's not our job. This time, we decided to meet him mostly because of Nimaiya's curiosity, but our only concern was to protect the Soul Society, Royal Palace, and the Soul King. If Ryoto ever tries to destroy either or all of these," There was a sudden change in seemingly gentle monk. "We'll eliminate the threat."
Tenjiro scratched the back of his head.
"I know, I know, I'm just annoyed that the kid was able to avoid me before I made my move. During my time in Sereitei, I was known as Lightning-fast Tenjiro, and I'm sure as hell I didn't lose my touch."
"He wasn't faster than you. He just reacted to you faster than you made a move." Senjumaru Shutara answered Tenjiro as she moved using her prosthetic limbs. "He was ready to fight the moment he saw us... He is an interesting boy." She finished with a playful smile.
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END
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