Bleach Hereafter RPG

The Guilt of the Cursed god

Of course, nobody knew what he was talking about. The prophecy was a secret Irisa kept between her and Hyakuji, and she only mentioned it at the brink of her death… perhaps to hope for one last time. Even the Captain Commander was oblivious to it, even as Hyakuji attempted to connect with him to hopefully seek advice. Their own responsibilities and overwhelmed them and they had prioritised other matters they deemed more important until the thought about the silver-eyed soul was kept in the back burner.

Indeed, the Captain tried to seek this person of prophecy in the first few months after Irisa's death. But even he had to succumb to his responsibilities as the Captain of the 13th division, and so had been out of reach to the Realm of the Living. The thought of Yukari also made it harder for him to go back to the human world. And it was only thanks to Maria and her companionship that he was able to heal his broken heart, thus, paved the opportunity to allow himself to move on and developed his feelings for her.

Now, the first order of business was to protect Soul Society, the world he and Maria have, and its future so they can live in peace. It might not be that different from his former goal, but he also recognised the fact that peace with other realms might be a too long a shot. He accepted he'd need a lifetime in Soul Society building it, and so committed himself to it.

One step at a time, he guessed.

Now, it seemed it was not only hin who recognised there were two souls living in one body. Akira was also sharp enough to realise that, although it didn't matter that much to him.

To Hyakuji however, it became a game changer. And the stubborn death god who initially didn't want the help of the intruder became more amiable. Just as how he had acted towards the fullbringer in their first actual encounter.

"Never mind that,"

Hyakuji would turn to the sudden burst of reiatsu pressure from afar. Just as he expected, Akira had more tricks up his sleeves. This time, the long-haired demon appeared to them as his opposite. The lone white angel-like wings protruded from his back, while he held the long odachi in between his hands.


The demon would then lunge forth at the two, ripping reality in between them. Hyakuji answered his strike with a single block. The sound of their blades clashing against each other like dissonant notes. Hyakuji pushed forward to gain momentum, changing his grip to a reverse sword strike. Slashing from below the ancient death god's thigh up to his chest as the visored twirled around.


"Yes, I have. And what do you want from it?" The raven haired captain answered as he parried with the attacks of their opponent.

Not waiting for a response from the Quincy he'd step back, his own weapon slowly dematerialising into smaller black reishi particles. There were countless, eventually dividing itself into thousands more. Slowly they'd take the form of skeleton soldiers. Some were shinigami… others looked like they were quincies from hundreds of years ago.

No one would perhaps recognise them except those who bore witness of the purge from six centuries ago. Yes, they were the souls of the people involved in the war, whom the visored had slain with his own hands.

Gradually, the soldiers would march towards the ancient death god, their weapons they held in pride as they submitted themselves to the Captain's will.

"Partake with my cup of wrath. "

[603]

(Light of Willpower)

With Akira in his Shikai form, the balance of power once again shifted into his favor, even though he was fighting two wannabe heroes at once. Hibano was pushed back by a sudden thrust after the parry, the blow almost getting him out of balance. Hyakuji was able to parry Akira's strike, but when he went for a counter-attack, the ancient Shinigami shifted the Ken no Kagi in his hand to a defensive posture so quickly that it may as well have been instantaneous. The slash across his entire body merely bounced off the key-like blade.

The Visored confirmed that he had the Hogyoku. Before the Quincy could explain what idea he had, he took the opportunity to charge - Hyakuji stepped back, preparing a spell, so Akira was wide open.

Yet, he was not intimidated at all. "Foolishness..."

In a single flash, Hibano sent three swings, yet, each one were blocked and bounced back. Undeterred, the Quincy briefly twirled his weapon, ready for a lunge past the white-haired warrior to slash him apart, yet, all he got was a sudden knee to the gut that threw him backwards. Hyakuji's spell was finally unleashed - a summon of thousands of dead warriors, shambling towards the ancient Shinigami and brandishing their weapons for ages past. When Hibano pulled himself off the ground after the blow, he saw himself surrounded by these skeletal warriors as they walked past him.

To him and Maria, they appeared like no more than skeletons they might see in fantasy books, but the Captains observing the battle saw so much more.

How... dares he desecrate the sacrifices of Soul Society like this? was what flashed in Captain Avasarala's mind. Yet, this was no time for complaints about an uppity youth's insult against the victims of the Quincy. Akira did not seem fazed by the marching undead army. Snickering under his breath, he readied his Zanpakuto, eager to break through the hapless skeletons. No!

With a simple finger gesture, Avasarala summoned several tendrils from the blood ocean, each one suddenly attaching themselves to Akira's arms. Captain Kenpachi, on the other hand, turned to Maria and yelled:

"Young Tokareva, now's our time!"

"Yes!" Maria yelled back to her Captain. The two Shinigami lunged forth while Akira was still restrained (or "restrained") and surrounded by the skeletal warriors, and attacked from each side. From the left, screaming at the top of her lungs, Maria swung with her enormous Zanpakuto in its Shikai form; from the right, Kenpachi threw a powerful punch with his one remaining arm; from the front, almost a dozen dead Shinigami and Quincies struck with their weapons to finish Akira off, like a pile of skeletons trying to tip him over.

Nothing... seemed to work.

Wha... What...? Maria's thoughts flashed. Not the punch, not the sword strikes didn't sink in at all, they just bounced off.

"Get out of the way, spectators."

A burst of Reishi was released from his body, breaking the blood restraints, flinging Maria and Kenpachi away, and pushing back the skeletal horde. Calmly, he began walking forward, and once any of the skeletal warriors got too close, the passive Reiatsu Akira emitted at this point would start to disintegrate them. Without any haste, he was approaching Hyakuji and Hibano.

The Quincy turned his eyes back to his... ally, returning to what he mentioned earlier. "The shards... they don't have that much power in of themselves. Once combined with the rest into a full Hogyoku, that power should skyrocket. I have the rest, and... that might be the only way he can be stopped at this point."

The Guilt of the Cursed god

In all honesty, summoning the agonising souls of the warriors from the purge was the last thing Hyakuji wanted to do. It reminded him of his failure as an honourable shinigami that time… as he allowed himself to be tainted with hollowfied power… only to murder thousands of innocent people he swore to protect. If only he had a choice….

Yet one could no longer be picky of his techniques in this fight, especially when the fate of all the realms lay in his hands. He could only hope the end could justify his means, and the Captain Commander, and the other witnesses could forgive him for such a restless act.

Hyakuji remained observant of his surroundings, even as he let the dead take over the battlefield. Nothing seemed to have worked on the ancient death god yet, despite the great display of his power, as well as that of the newly arrived Quincy. He managed to break his defenses earlier, sure, but it would only be a matter of time before he tapped some more of his reserves. Akira was a shinigami too, after all. He had not released his full power yet.

The dead continued to march and attempted to crawl over the white-haired demon, but they merely disintegrated as soon as they came closer to Akira. Captain Avasarala jumped back into action, alongside Captain Kenpachi and Maria… but they too seemed too small like pawns firing themselves at a formidable tower.

Faced with such a difficult situation, he became rather uneasy…

Is this where everything ends? Will they die in the hands of a traitor? After all this time, is he still powerless to stop anything or anyone that threatens Soul Society’s peace?

No… it couldn’t be… there must still be a way…

It was at this point that the quincy addressed him again, requesting the remaining pieces of the shards that were in his possession. ... So straightforward and direct… just like Valentina.

Could he be trusted? Even if he could… the power of the hogyoku might overwhelm him just like what it did to the fullbringer. And thus might not be able to control its strength fully yet. It might also be dangerous for his soul, as he was still a human being after all. True, his soul might be able to survive it, but surely, his body would not be able to contain it. And it would only be futile if the boy died in the process.

Hyakuji could no longer allow any more deaths, but the death of the enemy in front of them.

“Then, give me the shards in your possession…” his iridescent blue eyes would meet the gaze of the silver-eyed quincy.

“... it’s dangerous for a human being like you to hold onto it. I have seen it with my own eyes. Trust me.”

Beyond the grim look of a hollowfied death god, one that might have been despised by a quincy like him, was a kind-hearted noble man, who genuinely desired peace… a man who has been trapped by remorse for what he had done during the war, and was seeking redemption by carrying all the burdens of his past.

[532]

(Light of Willpower)

The Hogyoku? Now that he got a short break in the battle against Princess Zarzil, Tendo looked down, his attention drawn by the mention of the ancient artifact in the battle below. Hyakuji had already activated two of the pieces that he held, while, if the shopkeeper's senses were not lying, he could feel two other shards in Hibano's pocket. Quite interesting - as if by divine circumstance, the entire Hogyoku was now in battle and could be rebuilt for the first time in six hundred years. Yet-

That... teenager.

Was that... Valentina? No, Valentina was completely different, and was a woman, not a man. Yet, he could sense her soul inside of the Quincy. Is that the embryo? Why wasn't Valentina extracted from within already? His eyes glanced towards Daisho - he was on the other side of the battlefield, almost a kilometer away, handling a handful of lesser demons. Daisho assured him that separating the two souls will not be an issue, yet, here they were, with the poor girl still haven't received her eternal rest.

"GET BACK HERE!" Princess Zarzil suddenly screamed from behind, swinging her claws at the silent former Shinigami. Tendo didn't have the patience to deal with the uppity demoness, however, and ceased playing with her - he raised his hand and shot forth a spear of red threads from his fingertip which pierced into her chest and then swung her to the blood lake below.

Hibano, hearing Hyakuji's answer to the offer, glared at him with a mix of bafflement and fury. When it came from the lips of a Shinigami, it wasn't difficult to tell what he truly implied, and so, the Quincy suddenly shot down:

"Are you kidding me? Even when the fate of the world is on the line, you still can't get off your high horse," With plenty of venom in his voice, he sent a counteroffer. "I'm just as capable of handling the power of the Hogyoku as you are - and unlike a Shinigami, I won't misuse it."

Any further conversation had to be cut short, as Akira, stepping past the skeletal hordes, suddenly appeared in front of the two warriors and sent his elbows at both of their faces to fling them away. After a confident snicker, the ancient Shinigami declared:

"Allow me to settle this for you. You both will die before you figure out any sort of compromise."

The painful strike against his face threw Hibano back, flying across the air, before coming to a full stop moments before he hit the side of a skyscraper. Letting out a frustrated grunt under his breath and falling on his knees atop a Reishi platform from the lingering recoil, he gushed out:

"The Hogyoku can empower us both. We'll split its power, but... it should be enough to finish the job."

Shadows of Hope

It almost seemed eternal… the clashing blades, the sounds of explosion from one corner of the battlefield to the other… painful screams, unrelenting anger. The Fake City of Tokyo, while uninhabited by humans, had already seen so much brutality. So much. That even the city itself almost wanted to give up. Nearly all the skyscrapers in it were battered if not completely destroyed, like a degraded forest losing its once-sturdy trees.

The Captains who were battling with the lower-ranked demons had their fair share of the war. Not beaten, but worn out. Tired of the seemingly endless re-spawns of demons after being sent to Hell…

The dukes… the duchess… the knights and even the lowly sinners… there were just too many of them.

“Fuck,” Altair spoke.

He was holding back using his own visored form. But this fight was taking too much time. Hyakuji and the quincy seemed to be no match for Akira still, even with their combined power….Or perhaps they just needed to get along? Somehow? Still, the many that joined the fray with the ancient death god, the better. Perhaps he could provide some distraction at least.

Well, here goes nothing.

Altair breathed deeply, and at once, the wounded raven-haired knight would be clad in iron, with massive horns protruding on each side of the helm.

Ilvamal would notice the change in his spiritual pressure and would waste no time charging while he had yet to complete his transformation.

The colossal skeleton formed by his bone outgrowths swung both its hands to crush the armoured death god in between. Just in time, Altair summoned his broadsword, slashing through the clasping hands in a quick motion. Not only did the hands got torn into pieces, but the giant skeleton suddenly deformed into its original form earlier before finally disintegrating into nothingness.

“What the…”

“ Heh. I just needed a little distraction for you.”

Another figure appeared beside him, throwing the demon’s grimoire into Altair’s possession.

“Thanks man, I owe you one. But damn, what took you so fuckiing looong?!?”

The masked arrancar merely glanced at his… friend; escaping from the scene without saying a single word.

“That’s Sufre for you, alright,” Altair muttered as he watched the arrancar move away to deal with the other demons.

“So, I guess… this is goodbye... your highness.”

A crimson fire lit up the end of the grimoire at first and then evolved into a massive fire extending to the armoured shinigami’s arms. The flame consumed the grimoire whole, completely destroying it.

Suddenly, a large gate appeared behind the prince… At this point, he knew what was going to happen next, thus screaming and cursing as loud as he could, “No, no… DAMN YOUUU!” a spear jabbed his chest from behind, pulling him and sending him back to hell.

Now that the prince had been taken care of, Altair could now finally help the two heroes fighting against the shinigami ancestor. Except suddenly, he couldn’t move…

A single step, he did manage to make, but the next thing that happened was him falling out of balance, the gravity pulled his weight like a rocket making a safe landing on Earth. Finally, the exhausted death god plunged into the sea of blood, unconscious.

Sufre took a step back as he battled a duke, throwing himself into the flood, and dove deep to save his friend from drowning.

On the other side of the battlefield, the war is far from over. As Hyakuji and the Quincy argued as to who the shards should belong, Akira took this opportunity to attack them both. The visored death god was caught off guard as much as Quincy soldier was, yet quick as his movements were, he managed to block with his katana, although the impact was still too much to bear, and so he was sent flying a few meters away before he somersaulted to get back on his feet.

“It’s not about me! Kusogaki!” the Captain quipped, “I am genuinely worried about you.”

However, if what he said was true… that he could handle the power of the Hogyoku… Still, there was somewhat a hesitation... If it was Valentina's soul inside him, could he really take the boy's word for it? Would he really not misuse it like the fullbringer did?

Then again, they were running out of options. So he had to take a risk somehow…

“Fine,” the captain grunted, “but we’ll merge the shards while holding them.”

Hyakuji then leaped past the ancient demon at lightning speed, aiming to reach the teenager’s arms, should he agree to his terms.

“NOOW!”

[774]

(Light of Willpower - Final)

Leaping past buildings and staying behind cover to not reveal her presence to the Shinigami, all while suppressing her reiryoku, General of the Sanitatzstaffel Elisicia Katios approached the battlefield. Her eyes were constantly on the clash between Akira, Hibano and Hyakuji. Her comrade, direct and unwilling to play it safe, lunged straight into the battle, which frustrated her somewhat, but it was still salvageable.

What a soldier he was. The Wandenreich has not seen a recruit so energetic and talented for almost a century - and it seems as if even the Emperor himself took a liking to him. Elisicia was not yet so enthusiastic about him - yet, she had to concede that he was an interesting fellow, and if this gamble actually works out... she may have to give him the benefit of the doubt more often.

Her hand clutched onto a medallion, and she awaited her opportunity, watching the final phase of the battle unfold.

Hearing Hyakuji's response, Hibano gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated grunt. The Shinigami was, obviously, still hesitant - he wanted all the power for himself, it seems, and used the fact that Hibano was merely human as an excuse to deprive him of the Hogyoku which he had been collecting for so long. Ultimately, however, he accepted the compromise - as long as they constructed the Hogyoku together.

"Fine."

Hibano lowered his hand, hovering it above a pocket of his white Quincy uniform, and two bright blue shards floated from within, into his grasp. Merely touching them imbued him with a little bit of the artifact's power, but it was obviously not enough. His Spirit Weapon dissolved into particles, so, in one hand, he held the Hogyoku Shards, while the other kept a tight grip over his Asauchi.

"Oh no you don't..." Akira muttered under his breath, launching himself forward right as the two warriors threw themselves at him, too. It was a matter of milliseconds. Hyakuji extended his hand forward, but right as Hibano was about to reach for it, a thrust from Akira's Zanpakuto nearly caught him. It brushed past his uniform and skin, leaving a clean, painful cut.

Come on... There!

Hibano and Hyakuji's palms touched, and a blinding blue light suddenly shot forth from between their fingers, getting the attention of everyone in their vicinity. It read their desire for power with which they could defeat Akira, and so it began evolving them, unlocking something new which can finally close the gap.

For Hibano, it was relatively simple - an evolution beyond the normal capabilities of a Quincy, which left his hair dyed pure white and his eyes glowing red.

The sudden sheer output of Reiatsu pushed Akira back, sending him flying across the battlefield before he finally came to a full stop in the sky.

"What... is this...?"

A Peaceful Retribution

It had been six hundred years since the Hogyoku was torn into several pieces to prevent anyone from accessing its full potential yet again. However, it was the very same thing… the struggle for peace that brought forth its completion. The birth of a second one which fed on the consciousness of a person did not make it easier… It cost not only a single person’s life but thousands… and even threatened the existence of reality.

Now, the original Hogyoku was right before Hyakuji’s eyes again. There was no time to be swallowed by remorse once more. Sure, it was the reason why he hated his old self… but right now, the fate of humanity– rather, the whole of reality, lies in their hands. How they utilise the power of the cursed orb should make a difference.

What kind of power did he want?

Not the tainted hollow… not the darkness that was brewing inside of him… nor the selfish desire to rule Soul Society… but the kind that purifies… the kind that could wash away the shadows of doubt… of sorrow... Of pain.

The kind that exacts rightful judgment on sinners. The one that could overcome evil.

As he touched the completed Hogyoku, his hollow transformation got absorbed into it as well. His horns, the mask fragments… his black wings... All of it was being stripped of him.

Unlike the quincy who evolved into something more, Hyakuji reverted to his original form. The long-maned Captain with hair as dark as the void, and eyes as clear as the pristine blue waters of the sea in his shihakusho uniform, was merely draped by his white haori. Perhaps, the only telling difference now was that… he was glowing, shining intensely like the sun as he was blessed by the power of the Hogyoku as much as his ally was.

“This… is your judgment, Akira. The only way to gain so much, is to give everything back. After all these years, you have taken so much from others. Their lives, their peace... You have amassed all the power you can. But at what cost? You have sacrificed everyone for your ambition. Including the only person who truly believed in you,” azure eyes looked away for a moment.

“And now, the power that you’ve been holding onto until this very day shall be taken away from you.”

The Captain disappeared eventually, only to re-emerge in front of Akira. His zanpakuto, piercing through the ancient death god’s chest.

“Time to rest, Akira.”

[422]

(Light of Willpower - Final)

Hyakuji's Zanpakuto pierced through Akira, impaling him, the tip of the blade poking out through the other side. Taken aback by the shock and terror at first, the ancient Shinigami quickly regained his senses and smirked, retaining his confidence. Was this not what he was wishing for all this time - a warrior's death?

"For someone who has been staying silent this whole fight, keeping your cool... you certainly have a penchant for the overly dramatic."

Akira's hand clutched onto the blade shoved into him, holding it tightly. Reiatsu pressure from Akira was still building up and growing, jumping up and up to try to match the two Hogyoku-evolved warriors.

"But... if you have noticed, I am still not done."

After all, he fought Hyakuji, Maria and the two Captains in his base form, and easily handled both Hyakuji and Hibano with his Shikai. Even if they have been able to surpass him with the help of this artifact, he still had another plateau to ascend to. The ultimate evolution of his Zanpakuto, ten times more powerful than his already immense strength.

"Bankai!"

Immediately, an earthquake shook the entire city from the initial release of force, breaking windows and forcing numerous buildings to crumble.

Here it comes... Elisicia thought to herself, then immediately raised her Medallion, aiming it at Akira, and beginning the process of stealing Akira's Bankai. Dark tendrils of energy streaked from the ancient Shinigami's Zanpakuto and towards the device, absorbed by it and stored within. Yet, even that might not be enough time, if Akira manages to turn the tide of the battle for even a second.

Hibano appeared behind him. While Hyakuji had wished for the power he needed to defeat evil and become pure, the Quincy's desire fulfilled by the Hogyoku was a lot more simple. He wanted to be able to destroy the Shinigami, and so, that's what the orb granted to him.

As soon as he went for a swing and the edge of his Asauchi touched Akira's skin, he began to disintegrate, and so the weapon slashed through from one shoulder to another, cleaving him in half, with about as much resistance as if it were cutting through a cloud of dust.

Akira could not say anything, he could not even react, having still only been in the middle of his Bankai transformation. His face, contorted with shock and pain, disintegrated alongside the rest of his body, turning into no more than a handful of Reishi particles, scattered by the wind.

A crushing silence set in the battle.

Hyakuji’s final blow was nothing simple. While it appeared to be merely a stab, it was actually draining the ancient death god his power. Even then he still managed to summon his bankai. Of course,he was a shinigami desperate to cling even to the last drop of power he could get. Surely, he had taken as much as the waters in the deep sea throughout his lifetime. And yet, it seemingly was not enough.

The Captain did not waver, and thrust his zanpakuto deeper as Akira grabbed its blade. It was now or never. He could either die trying to kill him or survive by luck. At least he already did what he needed to do. He had confessed his love for Maria, and gave his all to protect not just Soul Society but all of reality.

There was nothing left to do….

Just as he thought he was the only one doing the finishing blow, the quincy appeared behind the ancient death god, striking him from the back. It was only at this point that the silver-haired demon yielded to his fate…

Whether or not it was solely because of Hyakuji or the quincy that the battle was over, one could only guess. One truth remained however, the hogyoku granted two people two different wishes in order to bring this war to a completion.

Knowing that their masters were now gone, the remaining demons cowered in fear, scattering in chaos, some tried to summon the gates of hell to fetch them, others unfortunately fell into the hands of the Captains and died trying.

“Arigatou gozaimasu... Ah gomen. I have to check on my comrades,” the death god humbly bowed in front of the kid, before he hastened up to go to his beloved.

Hyakuji looked to his left and to his right, surveying his surroundings looking for the lady shinigami. Once he got a glimpse of her, he’d quicken his pace to check up on her.


[ Today's dream is a life of tomorrow with you]

“Maria-san!”

“Are you alright?!”

While he was so concerned about the girl, Hyakuji merely grabbed the woman’s shoulders gently. He knew he made her worry, but there was no helping it. He had to focus on the fight to protect her… and everyone who was relying on him.

Waiting for the girl’s answer, his crystal azure eyes simply locked with her honey-coloured irises, reflecting a sense of relief that they could now finally live in peace.


[409]

Hibano spun the sword in his hand and sheathed it, offering no word to Hyakuji's polite bow and thanks. He did not want to receive a Shinigami's thanks, and if they were not surrounded by pretty much the entire cadre of the Gotei 13, he would have certainly continued by attacking Hyakuji while he was still exhausted from the fight. It was a miracle that the Shinigami were not hunting them down as is.

Instead, Hibano jumped down, speeding past buildings and retreating to the shadows, where he soon reached Elisicia - the Sternritter was giggling under her breath, maniacally, yet silently.

"It works," she stated with triumph in her voice, pointing the Bankai Medallion to the young Quincy. "I can feel it." The news got him to flash a faint smile.

"That means both of our tasks were achieved successfully," he answered, briefly looking down at his palm. It was still surging with energy from the evolution he reached from the Hogyoku wish, and his slice against Akira that finished him off made it clear that his wish worked as intended.

"All right, let's go-" the Sternritter affirmed, yet, right as she was about to leap off, she turned around and saw that her teammate wasn't budging. "Hibano?" He was looking towards the battlefield, towards the two young Shinigami who now gathered back together.

Seeing Hyakuji leap down to meet her got Maria briefly surprised - there were still demons left to fight, and that Quincy hardly appeared trustworthy, either. Yet, it was checking up on her that was his first instinct - and when he suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, she faintly blushed from the intimate touch. By now, she had wrapped a makeshift eyepatch from a ripped off piece of her shihakusho to replace the one which had incinerated during the battle.

"I'm... alright, yeah," Maria answered, then placed her hands on Hyakuji's shoulders herself. "I should be asking you that, you know. You were there not lettin' me get into any danger... so you could have all the danger for yourself..."

“Val?!” A tall man with spiky blonde hair appeared a few meters away from the two quincies. His eyes behind his glasses were heterochromatic, one was crimson as a rose, the other silver, reflecting the eyes of the lad in the white uniform.

No, that can’t be… right? Val died in his hands… while they were fighting her at the rogue shinigami’s lab. This boy… can’t be her. Yet, Yael could feel his lover’s soul inside him… how ever that happened. It was unmistakably her soul within him.

“Uh… Sorry, you just reminded me of your mother,” Yael immediately corrected himself.

“Hibano… right?” Yael stood there for a moment, still baffled at the fact that he now had a son… who was already almost his age, according to his informant.

He noticed the girl beside the young quincy. A Sternritter. He had not had the chance to meet them in person, so he hoped she wouldn’t be able to recognise him. Even though the Schwarzwald was a well-known house in the Wandenreich, they couldn’t possibly know each member right? Besides, it had been five years since he was gone. His escape, if ever it was found out, should have not reached them. What will they get out of it anyway?

At any rate, Yael turned his attention back to the young man.

“I need to talk to you.”

---

“Yokatta…” Hyakuji sighed a relief leaning forward, his head touching the woman’s shoulder. It felt as if a heavy weight was lifted off his heart. Maria then returned the question to him, nagging that the Captain didn’t allow her to fight. Hyakuji slightly blushed at her concern, she had not answered his confession earlier but her worrying about him suddenly put a smile on his face.

“It’s because I didn’t want you to get hurt… I’d rather take all the blows if that’d mean I’ll be able to keep you safe, you know…” his hands moved slowly to embrace her, gently… as light as the wind beneath a bird’s wings.

“I’m sorry I made you worry. I’m fine now, knowing you are okay.”

[367]

"Don't make a habit of that," Maria answered, with a faux judgmental tone. "We're both growing stronger to save one another, and I don't wanna feel like I'm just weighing you down, ya know?"

Now with... whatever that technique, or item was, unlocking a new level of power for him and that suspiciously familiar teen, he was surely beyond her, so her nagging was perhaps baseless - but, surely, this situation is only temporary. She still has more plateaus to reach, and limits to break. Of course, her Bankai will need to get under control, first, but then...

That does raise the question, though.

"So... what now?" she asked. "The big bad is gone. We won, the Demons probably ain't gonna be coming back for years, now. What next?"

---

The transformation Hibano unlocked thanks to the Hogyoku retreated back to his body, and his body and eyes settled into the familiar black and gray, respectively. Just in time, as, sensing a Reiatsu signature approach, the Quincy suddenly grabbed onto his cross and summoned his Spirit Weapon, a pistol, holding it close to his chest.

A Quincy with blonde hair and blue eyes emerged, calling him by Valentina's name. Yet another person who equated his mother's soul inside of his body with that woman. Hibano turned to face him, and so did Elisicia. The Sternritter narrowed her eyes. This Quincy was not assigned to their mission, and as it was a top secret operation, he could not be a member of the Wandenreich. He must be...

...a defector.

After correcting himself, the Quincy called Hibano out by name, and requested to talk to him. The young Quincy turned his eyes to Elisicia. They had to return to the Schatten Bereich soon, they were only given a brief time window to activate their plan and steal the Hogyoku Wish and Bankai. Yet...

...that face was familiar. It told something to him. He can offer a second to this man, perhaps.

"Who are you?"

Instead of getting swooned by his statement, Maria nagged Hyakuji about his resolution. To which he quipped back as he broke from his embrace, “It’s just a natural instinct for a guy to protect the one he cares about… isn’t it?”

Then again, Maria was not some damsel in distress. And she clearly did not approve of his princely instincts, thus he resigned, “Alright. But you can’t prevent me from saving you whenever you need it.”

Now that the peace has been brought back to the world, Maria asked about what’s going to happen next. It was unclear what she meant by that…

Hyakuji tilted his head, clueless… thus he asked for clarification, “Eh? What do you mean? We’ll carry on our duties as death gods… of course.”

He seemed to be missing something though… Putting his hand under his chin, the Captain thought hard about what else he and Maria could do…

Ah! Of course…

“Well… you did not answer earlier… when I told you I love you.” It was a bit embarrassing saying it the second time, perhaps because he was now made conscious about it. For a moment, Hyakuji looked away, as he tried to gauge the woman’s reaction.

Mustering up another courage, Hyakuji breathed deep, took the lady’s hand and gazed into her honey-coloured eyes, “I love you, Maria-san. Please go out with me.”

---

There was tension in the air, as the Sternritter seemed to not approve of his presence… Despite being quite confident about his status with the Wandenreich. The lady quincy seemed to have caught up.

It would be quite dangerous to spell out his name in front of the Sternritter, but he had to provide a convincing answer to his son as well…

Well, he could be blunt. Like he always did. Thus…

“I am your father,” Yael replied.