Chapter 290: Angry father

Chapter 290: Angry father

(Yukima's pov)

We... failed. All we wanted to do was save Rukia, and then Akio-nii told us about his grand master plan. He said something about a traitor in Soul Society that is behind all that is happening around Rukia lately. I grilled him for details, name, anything, but he wouldn't budge no matter what I tried.

Fair enough. I would run after the traitor right away and beat him up if I could. I can get hot-headed like that sometimes.

But all that led us to the Shadow dimension, as Akio-nii called it.

We almost died because of Akio-nii's stupid idea!

No... That isn't the case. We all agreed with Akio-nii's plan, and he did everything he could to make it as safe as possible, and thanks to his planning, we left that dimension alive.

I just feel... frustrated. I thought we were strong. That I was strong but this image shattered just like the mask I had used in my fight.

Before Akio-nii lost consciousness, he told us to get everyone to the Study Chamber so we wouldn't alarm the traitor.

There, Dad instantly noticed us, and I could feel his anger even when he was worried about us.

What surprised me was that Dad knew about these Quincies in the shadows... Of course, he knew that. Why wouldn't he! He was always aware of these small and big secrets and tried solving them alone, and now, because of us, he is forced to face them earlier than he wanted to.

I wanted to stop him. Scream that he didn't stand a chance against them. Yell to stop him because I was scared that he wouldn't come back... but I couldn't for some reason. Words stuck in my throat because I knew that Dad would maybe hesitate for a moment but, in the end, would choose to go anyway if it meant our safety.

The only thing I could do was to hope and believe that he'll come back.

"Now Yukima. Can you tell us what happened? Ryoto was absolutely livid, and so are we, but he seemed to have an idea of what's going on while we don't." Mom asked me because I was in the best state besides Gin, who left with Dad and maybe Rangiku.

So, I decided to explain what we encountered and how everything went wrong.

(3rd's pov)

---(A short while ago with Yukima and Rangiku)---

The fight wasn't anything spectacular. Yukima evaded the attacks and then counterattacked, and it went on like that for some time. It was ideal for the Yuuki family.

"So we introduced ourselves and all, and so did you, but we don't know the name of the girl that's fighting Candice-chan." The black-haired girl said to Rangiku. She was probably just bored by watching the fight the whole time.

Rangiku was still wary, rightly so since she was still surrounded, but didn't mind a small chat. She may get some info out of them if she is smart enough.

"She is my adorable sister, and her name is Yukima Yuuki."

That was a wrong decision, as every single Quincy that wasn't in the fight turned to her instantly.

"Yuuki? As in, the daughter of Ryoto Yuuki?"

Rangiku didn't like the way they asked, so she stayed quiet, which in itself was the admission, but they had a way to confirm it.

"Hey, Yukima girl! Do you know someone named Ryoto Yuuki!?"

Yukima was still fighting, and while she was aware of her surroundings, she wasn't exactly listening. Not that she could with all the lightning thrown at her.

"Huh!? You mean Dad!?

Rangiku cursed under her breath and prepared to fight. Meanwhile, the Quincies narrowed their eyes.

"So she is the daughter of one of the 6 war threats. Not impressed, but better be safe than sorry."

Panic went through Rangiku as she heard these words from one of the Quincy.

"Yukima, use your mask! Now!!!" Rangiku quickly warned her sister, and without hesitation or even questioning, Yukima did as she was told and summoned her Hollow mask, surprising her opponent. Her speed and power shot up tremendously and wounded her foe greatly.

"Bitch!" Candice screamed.

Yukima's triumph didn't last as she was rushed at by the other Quincies.

"Growl, Haineko!" Rangiku released her Zanpakuto to support her sister or at least draw one opponent away from Yukima. With a mask, she was much stronger than Rangiku, and her power was much more explosive.

The real fight started now.

---(Akio's side)---

Akio was starting to work on fumes. Using his Zanpakuto was very draining, but he somehow avoided any serious injuries and could deliver some decent attacks at them. Not to mention that his calculating power was harder and harder to maintain, and he could lose focus at any moment. It was to the point that he couldn't even take a second to calculate how long he needed to keep that up; otherwise, he risked making a mistake, and that was the last thing Akio needed.

That was the moment that Akio felt a sudden spike of Reiatsu. He couldn't mistake this violent Reiatsu even if he wanted to. His little sister was using her Hollow mask, which could only mean one thing: trouble. That was also the moment Akio lost focus for a single instance, and it cost him greatly.

Cang Du capitalized on his opponent's distraction and stabbed him in the shoulder, drawing a lot of blood in the process. Akio quickly created some distance between him and his foe, but that was the turning point. Akio had one arm left to use. In emergencies, he would be able to use his injured side, but at this point, he wasn't even sure if he could survive until Gin returned them back, and worst of all, he now worries about his baby sister!

Why does he always attract trouble? First with Aizen, and now this! What God did he offend for this to happen...

---(Masaru's side)---

Masaru felt that. Yukima's and Rangiku's spike of Reiatsu. The oldest of Ryoto's children knew that his biological sister was forced to use her Hollow powers. For now, they weren't injured a lot, and Rangiku was helping her as well, so he decided against using his Bankai, and if everything went well, he wouldn't be forced to do it. There wasn't much time until the return, but then he felt it. Something happened to Akio. He got wounded badly, and Masaru was aware that his younger brother wasn't a fighter. It was impressive that he could fight for about 4 minutes with 3 opponents without many injuries, but now it has changed.

This look broke the dam, and all the emotions that I tried to hold in flew out of me, and I started sobbing.

"I... I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

I was repeating this sentence as I cried and hid my face into Rin-kaasan's shoulder, and she just rubbed my back and, with her soothing voice, reassured me that everything was going to be alright, and for some reason, I was inclined to believe her...

(Ryoto's pov)

I was going towards Akio's lab, where there was a machine to get me to the Quincies dimension that I don't remember the name of. It has probably a German name like everything else to do with Quincies, and the last time I checked, I couldn't speak German.

Gin also gave me a quick summary of how this thing works and what happened to them. He only knew as much as Akio told him when he was on the verge of consciousness, so the information was spare.

The most important part of it was that Gin could make me return in five or more minutes, and that was perfect for me.

I told him to set the timer to 10 minutes. In these 10 minutes, I won't die even if they group up on me, and Yhwach should still be weakened, so he shouldn't want to fight me at the moment.

I nodded to myself.

I can do this. Just like in good old times when I hunted Quincy scums that tried to destroy the peace that Isamu created. This time, however, is more personal.

After preparing my mentality, Gin sent me there, and immediately, I felt Quincies nearby, so I walked towards them.

---

I walked slowly towards them as I unsheathed my weapon. My rage, quiet yet ready to swallow everything in its way. I also had my presence hidden to the best of my abilities, so they didn't notice me until I was pretty close to them.

"Who are you!!?" One of the Quincies demanded from me, but I ignored him and began monologuing.

"You know, I like to think of myself as a peaceful man. I also don't need much in life to be happy. I could live in the woods, hunting and living with my loved ones without any issues, but I also have my limits. They are harder to cross than when I was younger, but they still exist, and unfortunately for all of you here, you crossed it."

I was speaking calmly, emotionless even. I was wholly detached because I was readying myself.

"What are you talking about!!? We asked you a simple question! Who are you!?"

This time, it was a woman, Quincy, who yelled at me. Her face was severely burned. Seems like Masaru got her before they escaped.

"Stupid. Don't you recognize him?" The short blonde one said to her ally. "That's one of the 6 war threats, Ryoto Yuuki. He is solely on that list for one reason alone. There is zero information about his abilities beyond the basics. He is a master at manipulating information. As far as we are aware, he showed his Bankai only once and didn't show much back then except one attack."

I would normally be impressed by their information gathering, but not today. Besides, I was laying low for the last 200 years, not showing much in fights. The only time I trained all my other abilities was away from prying eyes just for a moment like this.

"Correct. I'm Ryoto Yuuki, Captain of Squad 2, partner in life of Isane Kotetsu, Yoruichi Shihoin, and Rin Yuuki, formerly known as Rin Kujo, father of Masaru Yuuki, Yukima Yuuki, Akio Yuuki, Gin Ichimaru, and Rangiku Matsumoto and much more than you are aware of but it's not important right now. What is important however, is that I heard that you took care of my children."

"...What of it?"

"Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu." I activated my Bankai, which put all 8 Quincies on guard, but I still didn't attack. "Have you ever thought what is difference between being alive and being dead?" Without waiting for them, I answered with my voice lowered to a dangerous degree, making it sound spine-chilling. "Harming my family."

Time for words ended, and I brought my free hand to my face with my finger bent as if I was imitating it had claws, gathered energy in it, and swiped it in front of my face. This action created my Hollow mask. I also heard someone exclaiming, "Another one!?" but I didn't pay them any attention because I wasn't done with my mask just yet.

The next part started in the center of my chest as a hollow (ha) hole was being created. Out of it, white bone-like liquid spread through my whole body, covering it and hardening almost immediately. At the end of my feet and hands, claws emerged in the place of toes and fingers. The most shocking thing was the mask cracking where my mouth would be, but instead of my regular face, when I unwillingly opened my mouth, a long tongue rolled out. The cracks also created teeth-like look.

My consciousness was starting to slip out. I could only be in that form for 15 minutes without any risk. I would move entirely on instinct, and I would be dangerous to my allies. Thankfully, I can count on Zangetsu and Gyaku to bring me back when it's time.

I hope I'll see all of them dead in these 10 minutes.

(3rd's pov)

Ryoto performed full Hollowfication. It wasn't something he could do every day for myriad reasons, and for the same reasons, he didn't have many opportunities to master it. The only time he could do that was during his time in Hueco Mundo, and that's when he achieved this form.

That transformation changed Ryoto in some ways. Bulkier appearance. A slight slouch. A functioning mouth with a long tongue sticking out from it. Fingers and toes ending with claws. Eyes sharper than before but now became pitch black instead of their usual white color when he used his mask.

Ryoto became a Hollow through and through, but he still didn't move and stood there without a hint of a movement.

"Wha-" One of the Quincies started questioning what just happened, but he was interrupted.

"GGRRRRRAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Ryoto roared animalistically and rushed with his Zanpakuto still in hand. His first victim was decided seemingly randomly, and it looked like Äs Nödt wasn't lucky today.

Äs Nödt was one of the most powerful Sternritters. It also may be the reason why Ryoto attacked him first, since he could instinctively know that he must dispose of him first.

Ryoto used Sonido to get close to his first foe. Standing in front of the tall Quincy, Ryoto grabbed his arm and cut Äs Nödt's torso from shoulder down, but that wasn't the end of Ryoto's attack. The aftereffect of the cut lingered in the air, and from that, a powerful black Getsuga Tenshou mixed with Cero obliterated the first Quincy.

Confirming the death of his opponent with Haki, he slowly turned around, eyeing his next victim, making everyone present feel shivers down their spine.

The predator looked at its prey.

---

END

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