Chapter 232: The reason
Chapter 232: The reason
(Ryoto's pov)
Together with Yoruichi, I went to the hill where I made a grave. It was made mostly because of that day when I killed Yan Fon, so it felt appropriate.
Yoruichi already knew that I visited here every year, but she probably didn't know why. It's hard to guess without me explicitly telling anyone.
At first, I stood in front of the grave without saying anything. There were more strokes on the grave than in the first year. I was forced to kill a few Quincies that attacked Isamu and me. Also, a few rouge Shinigami.
*Sigh*
What a brutal world we are living in.
"Do you know whose grave it is?" I asked Yoruichi.
She shook her head. "You never told anyone, and we never asked you since we guessed you would tell us someday."
"I really appreciate it that you didn't push me to share it, and I will explain it to you right now."
"Shouldn't you invite Rin and Isane then, too, to not explain it three separate times?"
"That's the thing. I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone, especially Rin. At least for a few more years."
Hearing my serious tone, she stared at me, trying to understand why but she just nodded, knowing that she'll know in a moment, but she didn't like the idea too much.
"This grave was made to bury my old self. After Rin and I got into Soul Society, I promised myself to do everything I could to protect her.
Before I met you or Isane, I had a lot of issues, and I didn't sort them out until about 20 years ago after achieving my Bankai.
One of these things was letting my friend die because I wasn't paying enough attention to her, so in a state of panic mixed with my guilt, I made a bad decision in haste and..." I didn't get to finish my sentence.
"Because you assassinated Yan Fon, am I right?"
I widened my eyes.
"You knew?"
"I had a guess. There was never any evidence besides traces of Reiatsu, which were more Hollow like than any Shinigami should ever have. I found the same type of Reiatsu in the underground training room after your training."
"..." I didn't expect her to already know.
"How long did you know?"
"I started suspecting you a little bit before you trained for Bankai, but as I said, I never had any evidence. You were just the only one I knew with Reiatsu like that. You are lucky that your cute and sexy girlfriend is so understanding." She brought my head down to her boobs.
"I never met a girlfriend that was okay with her boyfriend killing an innocent mother."
"Who said that I'm okay with that! I'll hear your whole reasoning out, and if I'm not satisfied, I'm kicking your ass!"
I smiled upon hearing that.
"Mostly, the reason for what I did was money to get to Shinigami academy as fast as possible. I needed strength to protect Rin, and Rin could get stronger as well. The strange thing was as if Yan Fon accepted her fate and was friendly to me when I broke in and was ready to kill her. I was about to give up, but... she had that look that not only accepted her death but as if it meant something like it had a purpose."
Yoruichi started thinking about my words.
"I'll look into it and tell you what I find. Can you tell me from whom you got the job?"
"...He is... no longer available..."
"Smart, but it makes it harder to find who made the assassination request, but it's impressive that you killed six trained bodyguards before training in the academy."
"Wait, killed?" I thought that I only injured them heavily and somehow escaped.
"Yeah, all six of them. Their bodies were massacred. It wasn't you?"
I decided to ask Zangetsu.
'Zangetsu, did we kill them?'
"Yeah, at some point during the battle, you lost consciousness because of your injuries and mental exhaustion, and I took over your body. It was difficult even for me with your body wounded like that, but after I was done and started walking home, you regained consciousness, and I let you get control of your body."
...God dammit.
I got closer to the grave and made additional six strokes on it.
"Can you get me the names of these bodyguards?" I asked Yoruichi. I try to remember everyone I killed. It's not like I will, but I'll try. Even if I won't remember their names, I'll never forget their faces.
"By the way, remember not to tell Rin about it. She'll blame herself for my bad decisions. She has a strong sense of responsibility, and I don't want her to stress herself, especially during pregnancy."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, but you still didn't explain how this little girl is connected to all that."
"She is Yan Fon's daughter, and she witnessed me after I killed her mother. She also saw my eyes. If you don't know that, it means that she didn't tell anyone about seeing me. She probably wants to kill me with her own hands."
"That complicates some things."
"It does, but I'll worry about it in the future."
---
Now that Yoruichi's parents are done, it's time for the big bosses, Unohana and Yamamoto. I could tell them separately, but I want to get it over with as fast as possible. Also, I don't think they'll get mad or anything. I didn't do anything wrong after all.
---
I was mistaken. I should have thought this through more.
I'm currently sitting in dogeza in front of Yama-jii. Unohana was standing next to him.
"So you're telling me that a Captain and two lieutenants are currently pregnant at the same time and will need to have maternity leave in the future?"
"When you say it like that, it sounds like it's a bad thing..."
"It is a bad thing!!! It will leave a big hole in our ranks!!!"
"I already talked with the Shihoin clan leader, and we came to an agreement with Yoruichi's duty. Rin isn't a problem as she is my lieutenant, and Isane has a very competent Captain able to fulfill her duties without her lieutenant."
"Ara~ You have such a high opinion of me, Captain Yuuki, but I won't help you get out of this scolding. It will end when Head Captain decides it ends."
...Change of plans then.
I turned to Yama-jii.
"Yamamoto-sensei, just imagine-"
"I'm not falling for that this time."
Crap baskets.
---
END
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