Chapter 268: Siblings' dispute
(Ryoto's pov)
That's just my life in a nutshell. I go outside for some time, and my pet is either dead or has run away, and I meet a Vasto Lorde that could be hostile towards me.
I'll miss Steve, but I should focus on the Hollow in front of me.
"I would say welcome, but I see that you already feel at home. How can I help you?"
"Are you the one who trapped the Hollow here?" She asked with a monotone voice, not betraying her emotions if she felt any.
"Yes, but to be fair, he tried to eat me in my sleep. I would kill him there and then, but his fur was very warm. Nights are pretty cold in Hueco Mundo. Now I'll be cold. Also, for your information, I wasn't abusing Steve. He was being fed, I talked to him, and I even allowed him to chew on my arm from time to time. He was being treated better than I am."
My rant didn't create any reaction from the Vasto Lorde in front of me. Her expression didn't change in any way, and if it did, it was minuscule enough for me not to notice, which would be impressive.
"I see... then what is Shinigami doing here, in Hueco Mundo?" She questioned further.
"Now hold your horses, shark girl. Now, it's my time to ask a question. Then it will be yours again. I think it's only fair after you broke into... I would say house, but it's just a cave."Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
She stared at me without saying anything, and it was unnerving.
"I understand. What do you want to know?" Her voice was very even and emotionless. I don't like not knowing what my possible opponent thinks... is what I would say if I didn't have a cheat called Haki. She was cautious, very cautious, but she didn't show it on the outside, and it's understandable. I'm an unknown Shinigami that, for some reason, is in Hueco Mundo. She doesn't know what my goals are and if I'm hostile.
"Then I want you to tell me your name. I don't want to keep calling you, you, or shark girl. You have a name, right?"
It seemed like that genuinely surprised her as her eyes widened slightly.
"... Tier... Tier Harribel."
I nodded.
"Ryoto Yuuki, current captain of Squad 2 and also, currently stranded in Hueco Mundo."
Hearing me, she raised an eyebrow, but I could tell she put her guard even further up.
"A captain? What is a captain doing here?" She asked.
"As I said before, I was stranded here. Kidnapped, to be more precise. You wouldn't believe it. I was just having a nice walk, and then an army of Menos took me with their kidnapping beam. Now I'm trying to find some way back home, but I have nothing yet, and as you probably are aware, not many Hollows are very approachable, and even more so, nice enough to help me out."
She gave an understanding nod, but I could feel her confusion with a bit of caution.
"Now it's my turn again. I just want to know what you are doing in my temporary home. Not that you are not welcome. You are the first one that didn't try to eat me, so I call that a win... You don't want to eat me, right?"
Tier ignored my question and started thinking if she should share whatever she wanted to say with me, and in the end, she decided to tell me.
"Recently, I evolved into Vasto Lorde, and I no longer need to eat Hollows to survive. I wanted to find some quiet place to live my life outside the conflict, as unrealistic as it is. I found this cave, but I was unaware that it was already occupied except for that mindless Hollow. I thought that he was suffering, so I ended his life. I wasn't aware that he was being taken care of. I apologize."
"What a wonderful day we are having, Yukima, Masaru-nii~."
"What do you want?" Instead of the usual calm and kind response, Masaru's voice was filled with resentment and didn't go unnoticed.
"And which ant did bite your ass this time. I don't remember stepping on your foot as of late. I was away for some time, and the first thing I heard was you angry at me for some reason."
"I wonder why. Dad is missing, maybe dead, and you didn't even attend the family meeting. Do you even care about our dad!?" Masaru yelled, clearly upset about the whole ordeal and staring at his brother.
Akio stared back without flinching at the raised voice.
"I clearly don't. Didn't I make myself clear a long time ago? To be honest, this situation is very pleasant. I hope that it will continue fo-" Akio stopped talking as Masaru grabbed him by his collar, his expression twisted in rage.
"Don't you dare to finish this sentence! I don't care how much dad cares about you! You don't have any right to wish for that!"
Masaru was about to punch his younger brother, but his wrist was held by Yukima, who had an uncharacteristically calm expression.
"Masaru-nii, before you decide to flatten Akio-nii's face, I want to ask him something." She then turned to her silver-haired brother. "You didn't seem surprised when you heard about Dad's disappearance. Even if you didn't care about him, you would at least show up in an unexpected event like that, but you acted like you were expecting this. Care to share your thoughts." She narrowed her eyes.
Yukima isn't always the sharpest person in the room, but she is her father's and mother's daughter. She isn't stupid, just short-tempered most of the time, but when focused...
Akio, on the other hand, didn't say anything but smirked, which earned him a straight, powerful punch to the face.
It was Yukima who sent him flying.
"You think that you are the smartest person around, but you are too blind to realize how stupid you are! I... We don't know why you hate Dad that much! Is it your ego!? Pride!? It doesn't matter! If something was wrong with Dad to justify your actions, Masaru-nii would have noticed. Did you forget what he can do!?"
In the corner of Yukima's eyes, tears started to gather, but she left in a hurry, not wanting to show them to anyone.
Masaru just looked at his laying sibling, shook his head, and left shortly after his sister.
Left alone, Akio kept lying on the ground. He didn't feel pain as much as he expected. It wasn't because the punch wasn't strong. It was numbed for some reason.
What Yukima said to him managed to reach him. Not to the point that he changed his mind instantly, but it was enough for the middle child of the Yuuki family to start thinking about a few things.
He frowned.
Something wasn't adding up. He wasn't questioning it before, but something was off, just like his sibling told him. Focused on what he believed to be true, he didn't even acknowledge other possibilities.
He'll need to look into it as soon as possible.
His sister literally beat some sense into her brother, and he wasn't planning on wasting it.
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END
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