Yoruichi Pov
Well that was interesting.
Seemed like every time he came by, he found a new way to shatter my world view. Can I even call it out as bullshit like the time he took to learn his Zanpakutō's name? I mean….Ichigo here pretty much learned it right away?
Sorta….he didn't even know that Zanpakutō had names until far into his tenure as a Substitute, but almost as soon as he was told, he released his sword for the first time. But he's also not a normal case in any sense of the imagination.
Wilhelm though he's….well, not human. But….half human he said? Does the fact that he's a Devil have any bearing on it?
Normally, I'd ask Kisuke, but he obviously didn't know Devils existed until recently too! Hell, no one knew they existed until recently.
It was only for a few moments, but his Reiatsu spiked high. No idea what he even did, his sword looked kinda plain too, so it's not like it's a physical attribute. Somehow, he managed to dodge out of the way of Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou without moving?
And isn't that something nice to learn about all of the sudden! This idiot over there was messing with his Hollow without telling anyone.
We were already talking with Shinji and the others about helping Ichigo, and he stressed many times that inner Hollows are very dangerous and they needed to be defeated and 'sealed' to access their powers.
Gonna need to call him in earlier than planned. Originally, I wanted Ichigo to refine himself a bit before getting a big powerup like access to his Hollow's powers, but it doesn't seem like that's gonna work.
It's nice that he got a bit of an eye opener.
Sure, neither of them were running at 100% in their friendly spar, but Ichigo should have more or less seen the distance between them. Which was fine, kid has a lot of room to grow so he's not gonna throw a fit for getting 'beaten'.
But even still….
I jumped onto his head and gave him an encouraging slap. "That was a good attack at the end."
"….what are you doing?" He asked skeptically.
"I'm praising you, idiot."
"…..why?"
"Am I not allowed to praise my student!?"
"No. That's not something you do. Ever."
"Just for that, I'm gonna tell Byakuya you and Rukia are dating the next time I'm in Soul Society."
"Yoruichi!" Rukia let out an exhausted sigh. "Please don't tell brother that, he'll believe you."
"I know." I smiled.
"You'd do that anyways." Ichgio just huffed.
Well, that wasn't untrue.
"But serious, you've grown a lot, Ichigo. I'm proud of you." I gave him another slap on the forehead.
"Okay you're seriously weirding me out." He shook me off, making me land on the ground. "What do you want?"
"Why do you think I want anything?"
"Because you're acting really out of character. So spill it, whad'ya want?" He scowled.
"Well, if you're offering, I wouldn't mind hearing the details from Orihime when she gets back." I happily responded to his generous offer.
"I'm not pumping her for information." He crossed his arms, scowling deeper. "As long as she's fine, then it's all good."
"You're not the just teeniest bit curious? Who knows what's happening over there. I mean, Youkai, that's probably not a good thing." I tried to egg him on a bit.
"The bastard said she was fine."
"Wow, you really just trust him at face value like that?" I blinked in surprise. I mean, I did in all honesty, I felt like he was a good guy and I was rarely wrong 'bout that sort of thing. But Ichigo was still a kid so…I expected more concern?
Ichigo just shrugged. "He's an ass but he's not an asshole."
Strangely, I knew exactly what I meant by that. Maybe that's why we got along so well in just a few days?
"Nice brick."
"Screw you!" He tried to throw it at me, but I easily dodged.
"I knew it, the dastardly Kurosaki Ichigo is at it again! Shinigami beware, he has a brick!" I immediately ran away, letting him stew in his own anger.
Still can't believe Wilhelm bricked Mayuri in the face.
Just the continued thought of that gets me all riled up in a bad way.
Hopefully seeing Ichigo push himself like that would get the others to take their training seriously. Uryū had his own problems right now, but Chad had sort of been neglecting his Spiritual Training since he got back from Soul Society.
Orihime almost getting kidnapped should be a wake up call for them. The world wasn't going to ignore everything going on even if they wanted it to.
"You're being uncharacteristically quiet, Kisuke." I trotted over to my long-time friend as he just quietly looked at the kids arguing off where I was a moment before.
"Am I?" He smiled lightly.
"Well, normally, you would be doing anything you could to get the answer you wanted. You know, like manipulating the kid, or some shady shit, or maybe pushing boundaries that you really shouldn't." I listed off things he's done in the past.
At least he hadn't outright threatened people to get what he wants. Well, not like physically or maliciously or anything like that. But blackmailing hasn't been off the table. Kisuke isn't the most morally resolute person in the world, but there are lines he won't cross.
Sometimes I gotta remind him of them, or just point out how he's acting like Mayuri to stop him in his tracks.
He tries to be decent, so he's already leagues ahead of that psycho clown.
"You obviously had a lot of things you wanted to say, why didn't you?" I jumped up onto his head.
He hummed, playing with the fan in his hand. "I guess the time didn't feel right." He glanced at me. "I'm trying to be….nice."
"Well, miracles do happen." I snorted. "The angry Goddess doesn't have anything to do with it I presume?"
He nearly stumbled but quickly corrected himself. "Ara, I'm both enthused and horrified at the idea of this self-proclaimed Goddess."
"Please don't get yourself killed."
"I know how to act when the situation calls for it." He smiled good-naturedly. "I did survive as a Captain without everyone hating me."
That was true….. Kisuke somehow was on the good side of nearly everyone during his tenure.
"What'd you think of his Zanpakutō?"
Kisuke frowned slightly. "I would need to see it a few more times, but I have some…theories."
"Oh? And what kind of theories are those?"
"The kind that make me realize that Schweinorg-kun is not a normal person."
Coulda told you that myself. A normal 'person' doesn't learn Shunpo to that degree he did in a manner of weeks.
A 'normal' person doesn't develop their Zanpakutō to that degree in equal time.
A 'normal' person doesn't have such expert control of their Reiatsu after learning how to handle it in less than a couple months.
"Honestly, feels like you're sulking." I poked at him.
"Sulking? Me?" He chuckled.
"Well, you do like being the smartest person around. Now that there's things going on that you're completely in the dark about, it must be eating away at you. How's your research been going?"
"Admittedly, not very well." He sighed. "Yoruichi, I looked into everything I could. All the records I could get my hands on, and even started reading children's books to see if there were any glaring 'hints' that I might have missed. Nowhere does it imply that the Goddess Izanami should exist. Much less a plethora of other Gods that would also exist by extension."
"Well, we know the Soul King exists, it isn't that big a leap." I pointed out.
"If I hadn't seen him with my own eyes, I would be having a hard time believing any of this." He sighed again.
"Still can't believe you took a peek at him."
He chuckled awkwardly. "I was young and foolish."
"It wasn't that long ago."
"It wasn't." He agreed.
"Sorta thought you'd ask him about your Hogyoku too. But you didn't even broach the subject with him while he was here."
"I was tempted." He fidget with his Fan some more. "I tried to find him, you know?"
"Kisuke." I frowned.
"I wasn't going to go looking, or anything like that." He waved it off. "If Mayuri couldn't find him through his own methods, I certainly wasn't going to give him any help either."
"Fine, I believe you." I knew Kisuke did things often just because he wants to know if he can.
"I couldn't find him. Anywhere."
"He's good at hiding."
"Yoruichi, I don't think he was in the Human World."
"…..when you point it out, it makes sense. I mean…he's a Devil or something, right? Stands to reason that there was a place we didn't know about, where he was hiding? I mean…" I paused for a second. "….did you check Hell?"
A slow grin crept up on his face. "Yoruichi, are you asking me if I broke one of the biggest Taboos and went around poking at Hell?" He sounded 'aghast'.
"Stop being an idiot." I smacked his head.
"I did a preliminary….poke. Even I don't want to start playing around with Hell. But Schweinorg-kun has no resemblance to the Hell we know. His Reiatsu is all wrong in both feeling and effect. You know just as I do that Hell's aura erodes living things."
"Yeah, just figured I'd ask." I nodded.
The two biggest Taboos that every member of the Great clans and even higher-up Shinigami learn very early on.
Treat the Soul King with absolute reverence.
And do not inquire about Hell.
Both of these can get you executed very quickly. If Kisuke started poking around Hell and Soul Society found out, they would disregard our 'working relationship' and any attempts to reconcile to execute him as quickly as possible even considering Aizen and the Quincies breathing down their necks.
"So you couldn't find him, not that big of a deal? Are you getting upset that he escaped with your marble somewhere without you being able to keep an eye on him?" I teased him a little.
"After looking, I could pinpoint Aizen's location due to the unique signature his Hogyoku gave off." He stated. "It's irrelevant because we know he's in Hueco Mundo, but I just used that as a reference. And Schweinorg-kun was found nowhere."
"Maybe he used some Magic or something?" I offered. "Seems like there's a much wider world we didn't know about until now. I guess it makes sense considering we didn't really leave Japan much when dealing with Spiritual stuff." I thought it over myself.
Japan was the Spiritual capital of the Human World. There were some spots elsewhere, but Japan as a whole was where 90%+ of all Hollow attacks occur.
In the rare occurrence that a Hollow had enough Reiatsu to form elsewhere in the Human World, they almost instinctively go to Hueco Mundo, then come to Japan to hunt due to the density of Reishi.
"I'm annoyed that there is the possibility of such a thing slipping under my nose. But I'm also glad that there's so many new things I'm learning about. As a scientist, I welcome opportunities to learn new things." He grinned.
"So your pride is stung." I summarized, hopping off his head. "Anyways, you may want to check on Ichigo."
"I heard." He nodded. "I'll give Shinji a call to get his opinion."
"Alright, I'm gonna head out and check on our friends from Soul Society."
"Are you worried about them?" He raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I'm worried about what may happen if they're stupid enough to….interrupt the people the Goddess apparently said she would send to fix Orihime's apartment."
Kisuke blinked. "I believe it's best that you keep an eye on things."
"I thought so too." Glad we were on the same page there. "Tell me when Tessai comes back, I wanna hear about what he got up to."
Kisuke gave me a silent wave as I ran out of the underground basement of his.
While I was out and about I also checked up on the Humans to make sure everything went well with Kisuke's little 'toy'.
Tessei did good work too. He made sure that no humans appeared within the destroyed buildings or under rubble when they reappeared in the city. Had to give Kisuke credit, the humans were confused, but that was better than being dead.
He did a good job from what I could see at a glance.
He added a light mental impulse to not treat the disappearance for several hours with much concern, which seemed to be helping. Left a bad taste in my mouth, but again, better than the alternative.
It only took a few minutes to get over to where Orihime lived, and thankfully the Shinigami weren't around causing problems by sitting around inside.
Found them nearby, able to keep an eye on things, but not close enough to interfere.
"Nothing yet?" I asked, arriving with a gust of wind.
"No response as of yet." Captain Hitsugaya replied. "But we will keep watch."
Well, I guess I shouldn't be too worried, Hitsugaya was a no-nonsense kind of kid.
"Hey….Yoruichi." Renji sort of shuffled up in a hushed tone. "Can I ask you something?"
"What's up?"
"Are Rukia and Ichigo really….together?" He whispered.
"…..yes." I'm sorry Ichigo, I couldn't help myself. But to be fair, they both need to get laid. "Make sure to tell Byakuya too."
Well, the look on his face made me think he wasn't asking because of the older Kuchiki.
The others just looked bored, even if they were still sort of doing their jobs properly. It wasn't anything new for a Shinigami to stand around for hours at a time while they watched over a place or did patrols.
I remember my early training days where I was up for over two weeks straight in the human world hunting a particularly annoying hollow.
"Something's happening." Captain Hitsugaya pushed himself up from where he was sitting/leaning.
At the same time everyone else immediately zoned in on what he was referring to. Similar to that magic or whatever it was that Wilhelm used, a portal opened up in the middle of Orihime's apartment and tons of different…..people walked out.
And none of them were human.
They felt….strange, their Reiatsu was…..I don't even know how to describe it. It was extremely faint, but on top of it was this entirely different 'feeling'.
Particularly, at the front, there was a man with two horns on his hand, a big guy, probably bigger than Tessei and wider too.
There were others, some very much not humanoid in shape. Some with elongated features, others with animal features.
"Alright, you know the job, barrier up to avoid the humans. Get the measurements ready, I want someone to check on gas lines and electricity!" The….was that an Oni? The Oni at the front started ordering people around with…actual precision it seemed.
I never thought I would see an Oni with construction knowledge. Or an Oni in general for that matter.
He was even wearing a hard hat, with holes so his horns peeked out from underneath.
…..today had been a strange day.
I think all of us were a bit taken back. Sure we heard that Youkai existed, and even one of the Captains was a big humanoid dog/wolf or something, but to see it like this was another matter entirely.
I used to think that Youkai were just stories from Spiritually perceptive humans who could see Hollows…
But the Kappa with his big shiny head seemed to destroy those previous thoughts, along with the others.
Was that a Tengu? He had a long nose and bird-like wings on his back too.
"Nyah?" As if taking everyone off guard, a little black cat with two tails stood right in front of us.
I…admit a small lapse in my awareness, which I think was understandable in this situation. But I was also surprised that this very much not a normal cat snuck up on us.
"Meow?"
"Nyah."
"Meow."
"Nyah~!"
"Meow!"
"…..did you make a friend, Yoruichi?" Rengiku asked.
"Hello." The foreign black cat spoke perfectly.
"Hello." I spoke back, never thinking I'd meet another talking cat before.
Am I allowed to be surprised by this? I feel like it's a sort of irony.
We sort of just stared at each other. As a cat, it was easy to tell it was a 'she' as well. But her two tails were a bit confusing.
We began to circle around one another as if to size each other up.
I could take her, easy.
That's what my gut told me.
Though she'd probably smack around a couple of the ones behind me.
"Name?" I asked.
She had a mischievous grin on her face as that 'strangeness' around her sort of shifted and a puff of smoke appeared, barely obscuring the form of a young woman, laying seductively on the ground with a black kimono adjusted to barely cover certain parts of her body.
"Kuroka~" She introduced with a grin.
"Captain, cover your eyes!"
"Rengiku, I'm not a kid!"
"Hoh, what a nice complexion."
"Are those cat ears real?"
"Hoh, are you challenging me?" I raised a nonexistent eyebrow.
"Nyah~" The girl….cat….Youkai? She seemed amused by this whole thing.
I transformed as well, almost similar in every aspect of how it happened. Except, I wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing.
"You have got a long way to go little girl~" I matched her smile.
Her eyes widened. "Nyah!?"
I win.
"Dammit Yoruichi, put some clothes on!" I heard Captain Hitsugaya scolded me and glancing back I could see his bright red face.
"Prudes."
"It's cute." The newly named Kuroka giggled as she got up and sauntered over to the younger Captain.
He tried to keep his composure as the younger girl seductively walked towards him, clothing seeming like it was going to fall off her admittedly voluptuous body.
"I-I'm Shinigami Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13, I – "
"Nyah." She moved rather fast and put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Wanna help me make some Shinigami kittens?"
Oh, I liked her.
[***]
Wilhelm POV
"Oh hey, I think he's back."
"Thank you Qrow, I wouldn't have noticed otherwise." The distinct voice of Headmaster Ozpin replied rather dryly.
"No problem, Oz." I noticed Qrow from before sitting at his side, drinking from a certain flask of his.
"Sorry for taking so long we had…..an unexpected situation arise." I expressed my apologies up front at my tardiness.
"Is that blood on you guys?" Qrow blinked.
Ozpin shot him a look then focused back on us. "Thank you, Mr. Schweinorg, but I understand that certain situations can delay someone. A mere two hours is a small matter to consider for Amber's health."
"I also came down to watch." Qrow waved.
"I noticed." I pursed my lips. "By the way, I got your message."
"Yeah…" Qrow sheepishly cleared his throat. "Oz gave me the heads up. But hey, all's well that ends well. Hope Oz's ex wife isn't getting pissed at you. Less time you're sleeping on the couch, less time she has to be Evil." He raised up his flask.
"…thank you, Qrow, for your insight." Ozpin sighed.
"Salem was….forthcoming." I said vaguely. "She's aware of what I'm doing."
"Color me surprised." Ozpin stated, still nursing a mug of tea it seems but he didn't react visibly at all. "But that is another matter, I believe introductions are in order?"
"Right." I stepped slightly to the side to allow Tessai to be seen without my obstruction. I cast a look over the man and he seemed….out of it, surprised, confused in all manner of emotions.
Right, Spiritual Energy here was….well, there is a tiny bit from my presence, but it should feel utterly alien to him.
Not that I would rethink my decision, but this did seem like the best option bar literal Divine Intervention which was its own can of worms.
Tessai to his credit was immediately snapped back into focus on the immediate issue at hand.
"Tessai Tsukabishi." He politely bowed with his introduction.
Ozpin raised an eyebrow and merely smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy."
"Greetings, Ozpin-Dono."
Ozpin nodded, seemingly unphased by his mannerisms.
"Hey, I'm Qrow." Qrow just casually threw his hand up in greeting. "You're a big guy, huh?"
"Qrow, stop being rude." Ozpin lightly chided him. "And we have more pressing concerns. I believe you are the 'specialist' that Mr. Schweinorg here told me about?"
Tessai pushed up his glasses with a hint of pride on his face. "In the matters of the spiritual, I dare say I am of a keen mind."
"Wonderful, thank you for coming on short notice. I would normally be much more welcoming as a proper host, but this is a rather odd situation."
"I understand, Ozpin-Dono, I accept your graciousness for the intent." Tessai returned the niceties.
Qrow pushed himself up from his chair. "So how's this work? You a specialist on souls or something? You a wizard like the kid or a hunter or something?"
Tessai blinked, looking at me and I gave him a shrug. "I believe there is a misunderstanding. I am a Spiritual Specialist, none of which you stated."
"Huh, though that was just like a sort of specific title, didn't know it was something else entirely." Qrow hummed, taking a drink of his flask.
"It is rather….interesting." Ozpin had a strange gleam in his eyes. "At the risk of sounding rude, I would like to verify your…credentials, in a manner of speaking."
"I understand your skepticism." Tessai didn't take offense. "You wish to see my expertise?"
"I apologize for the assumption, but while I…..admit to not knowing Mr. Schweinorg too well, I do have some reassurances with him. I would not be doing my duty to leave Amber in the hands of someone I knew absolutely nothing about. Would it be remiss of me to ask for….proof, of your capabilities?"
"I would be more than willing to demonstrate if either of you would like to volunteer." Tessai offered.
"Oh, me!" Qrow raised his hand.
"It seems Qrow wishes to see your abilities first hand."
"But if you ask me to bend over and cough….I'ma need to be a bit more drunk."
Tessai chuckled. "That can be arranged."
"A doc with a sense of humor." Qrow grinned. "What do I need to do, big guy? I hope this doesn't have anything to do with you having blood on your….apron?"
"Apologies, my last patient was….uncooperative."
"Uh….having second thoughts now."
"Now now, Qrow, be a good patient, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen." Ozpin hummed.
"Simply sit on the ground please." Tessai gestured.
Qrow plopped himself onto the ground easily. "Like this?"
"Yes." Tessai nodded, sitting down right behind him and putting a hand on his back. "Please do not be aggressive to what I'm about to do."
"Aggressiveeee." Qrow's voice jumped by a few octaves as his Aura flared around Tessai's glowing hand. "Ah!?"
"….did you forget to cough?" I asked.
"…funny." He said dryly. "No that just….that was weird? My Aura went all funky for a moment."
"Yes, your Aura." Tessai paused. He knew about my Aura in the barest capacity from the time he was teaching me. But he hadn't seen it on other people thus far. "If you could keep it under control, please?"
"Yeah, no problem, now that I know what to expect…"
And I think Tessai would compensate for it as well.
Ozpin watched intently as Tessai's hands lit up in a green spiritual hue as his Spiritual Power invaded Qrow's body.
"You have severe Liver swelling and inflammation. I also see very old scarring and cirrhosis from years of heavy drinking. If you don't correct your habits, you will find yourself in trouble in about a decade." Tessai commented.
"Mmm, probably. But everyone knows I'm a drunk Doc." Qrow held up his flask and shook it.
"Quite." Ozpin agreed.
"I merely wished to address the most portent find. Otherwise you are in very good health. You have some minor tearing in your right shoulder, did you perhaps strain yourself recently?"
"I did….fought a bad little Ursa a few days ago, got my shoulder sore."
"You have experienced several broken bones in the last two decades. Your left leg seems to have suffered the most, I see four different times it was broken and healed. Further, your left arm has been broken twice, the second time it didn't heal all the way properly. Did you perhaps remove a cast early?"
Qrow winced. "I did….how'd you know?"
"This is far from my first time." Tessai chuckled. "Unfortunately, it healed back with that slight deformity, it shouldn't cause you any undo strain if you don't' feel any pain normally. But I foresee it breaking again in the future."
"Noted." Qrow groaned. "But Doc, I thought you were a Soul expert?"
"I am curious as well. I admit your insight into his physical aspects, but this problem stems far beyond the physical." Ozpin stated.
"An understandable assumption, but that is incorrect. The Body is a reflection of the soul. To heal the Soul, the Body must be considered as well. I propose to you to ask yourself this woman's body, how has it responded to harm to her soul?"
"That is a valid train of thought." Ozpin looked thoughtful. "It's as you say, her body is undergoing complete shut down."
Tessai just nodded as he expected it. "Without a proper 'patient' to utilize, I'm afraid my experience in healing Spiritual problems will be impossible to prove. But in the vein of evidence, I could offer up my own insights in yourself, Headmaster-Dono."
"Myself?" Ozpin raised a questioning eyebrow.
"You have a very old soul. Layers upon layers all wrapped around one another." Tessai stated. "I was able to perceive as much as I saw you for the first time."
Ozpin paused, then looked at me.
I held my hands up. "I didn't tell him anything."
"I am very old." Ozpin said cryptically.
Tessai just nodded and didn't delve deeper.
"Very well, you have proven your point. Thank you for assuaging my worries even though you were invited here on our own behalf."
Tessai's expression softened. "To care for someone else is no sin, Headmaster-dono."
"Thank you for your kind words."
I think they liked each other.
"Amber is right over here." Ozpin casually walked over to the pod that Amber was inside. He had the common sense to close it after he realized we were taking more than a few minutes, so that's good.
"Explain to me how this machine works, please." Tessai responded, walking up to it.
"Its purpose is to provide her physical needs as well as stimulate her Aura around the clock to keep her Soul from collapsing into itself."
I put a hand on it because I didn't get a good look before, much more concerned about the girl inside. "You're doing the equivalent of shocking someone to keep them awake."
"Crude, but not untrue." Ozpin didn't deny it. "Her Aura is keeping her soul…..in shape, for lack of a better word. If her Aura stopped being forced into action…well, the obvious as I said before."
"It's only a time-buying measure. And this is….well, I don't want to say barbaric, because you're doing so to keep her alive. But this has its own problems if it continues for long. Which is to say, she doesn't have long anyways." I let out a small sigh.
"Options were limited. Unfortunately, I did not know anyone specialized in spiritual matters that I could call up." Ozpin stated.
Eventually, it's all going to just shut down at once. Like shocking someone to keep them awake, eventually their body will shut down by itself even with the 'shocking' going on after enough time passes.
"I will need a more thorough inspection." Tessai stated.
Ozpin seemed to reluctantly agree. "I suppose this is our best hope regardless." He went over and pressed the button to train the container before it opened up.
Tessai was quick to put a hand on the girl and his hand lit up as he began to use his Kaido once more.
Tessai's expression shifted several times as he presumably did his analysis.
"I have questions."
"Please." Ozpin gestured.
"Why does this young woman seem to have something…parasitized to her soul?" Tessai's tone was…oddly stern. "And why does it have the faint traces of your own soul, Headmaster?"
Ozpin frowned. "So you could tell that. I guess that's all the confirmation I need for your authenticity."
"I require an answer before I proceed further." Tessai's tone held no room for negotiation.
Ozpin let out a tired sigh. "A long time ago, I wanted to gift a few young women a bit of magic from myself. Unfortunately, they inherited a particular curse of mine, and that magic was…passed down along with those 'traces' you're probably noticing."
"I'll vouch for him, Tessai." I spoke up. "Despite the idiocy of what he did, a long time ago, it wasn't malicious nor anything like that." I could imagine how it must look to Tessai who deals with Hollows and Shinigami on a daily basis.
"Very well." Tessai accepted.
"How is she?" I stepped up to peer over Tessai's shoulder.
"I can see the problem immediately. It is as you described, a piece of her soul is forever missing."
"That's bad." Qrow added his own thoughts to the mix.
"Thank you, Qrow." Ozpin deadpanned.
"Happy to help again."
"Is this beyond your means, Mr. Tessai?" Ozpin asked.
"Fortunately, it is not a particularly unsolvable problem. Other than a missing piece of her Soul, there are no lingering effects. No further damage, no corruption." Tessai listed out. "There will be some side effects, but the matter of healing is quite simple if time consuming."
I suppose in similar situations, Tessai usually has to deal with Hollow corruption, or other soul-based damage from Spiritual Entities.
The difference between an infected wound and a straight cut that's been bleeding for too long.
"Truly?" Ozpin had a tinge of hope in his voice.
Tessai nodded. "It will require a few sessions of healing. However, I can solve the most pressing concern of her soul collapsing. I will mend it 'back into shape' and you will see a sharp improvement in her health. Expect some memory loss and physical therapy to be required. I cannot promise there will not be other unforeseen side effects. The Soul is strong, it's malleable, but it is not unbreakable."
"How long is long, Doc?" Qrow asked the pertinent question.
"It will take no more longer than a few hours to mend her soul back to a similar shape as before. But that is only the first step, and there will need to be a period to let her settle down. She will wake up soon afterwards, but I will need to continue the treatment within the next month." Tessai stated.
"Can't do it all at once?" Qrow asked.
Tessai shook his head. "Her soul has suffered extensive damage. It will need time to recuperate after each Healing as her Soul is the basis for her own recovery."
"You have my thanks." Ozpin said with a genuine tone of grace.
"It is my duty." Tessai accepted it regardless. "I will begin immediately."
I didn't bother him despite being curious about the treatment myself. Tessai was down playing it, I'm sure. That's the kind of person he was.
Her soul was missing a chunk, and Tessai is all but guaranteeing that he can heal her mostly back to full health.
"Thank you as well, Mr.Schweinorg." Ozpin addressed me. "I am aware that you did not have to go out of your way to put this all together. Despite the….reasons for you doing so, I am thankful."
"You probably won't believe me that Salem is….trying at least." I shook my head. "But I was just trying to right a wrong from her end. At the very least, we should be good between us, hmm? No lingering jealousy?" I may have had a teasing grin on my face.
"Jealousy?" Ozpin chuckled. "Not at all, Mr. Torchwick."
"…pardon?"
"I apologize, do you prefer Watermelon?" He said, taking a sip of his tea.
…..god dammit Roman.
[***]
Non-Canon Omake: Through the Looking Glass Part 5.
Honestly, after accidentally landing here and meeting my mom for the first time in years, this isn't how I expected this to go.
Kind of escalated quickly there, but who am I to deny someone a very needed beating?
And well, he was ogling Scáthach and Venelana's boobs very blatantly. I'm not going to get pissed off whenever someone stares at my girls, I get it, they're some of the most beautiful women to ever exist and very physically attractive, but he makes it weird.
If you're going to admire a woman, you can't be a creep about it.
Then again, he literally watches underaged girls undress at school without them knowing, or with them knowing, he did get beat up a lot there.
And it's also sorta personal for Ddraig.
[Kick his ass!]
Will do.
[Curse him, make it so every time he even thinks about boobs, he gets flacid!]
…that's fucked up.
[Kick him in the balls!]
Very personal for Ddraig.
"You know, I'm curious about something." I spoke up, taking a spot opposite of Issei in the back yard.
Now that I think about it, why were they letting this happen?
Did they really not think about how this was going to go? At the very least, I knew the Maid and my Biological Alternate Father weren't….well, these two didn't seem stupid.
[Isn't it obvious?] Ddraig stated.
How so?
[They also want to see him get his ass kicked.]
.....oddly, I don't think they share your same hatred.
"What, you damn handsome!?" Issei was…seething still.
"Well first, are you trying to insult me by calling me handsome?" I honestly questioned this kid's mental facilities.
"It's because you handsome bastards are stealing all the girls!" He threw his hand up in accusation.
"That's a lie." I countered.
"Bullshit, everyone at school are always talking about Kiba and you…him too!" He looked at my alternate self. "And all the handsome popular guys!"
"….do you think that maybe if you weren't a sexual predator, girls might be interested?"
"Screw you!"
"So that's a no." I rolled my eyes. "But as I was saying, you're wrong. The fact of the matter is, we don't 'steal' girls or whatever it is you based your life around. To steal implies that something belonged to you or that it was yours. The fact of the matter is, if they never existed, do you really think you would have had a chance in the first place?"
[Nice, keep going.] Ddraig was goading me on.
"Of course, without you handsome bastards, normal guys like me would have a chance!" He didn't waste any time puffing up proudly at his declaration.
Just…..zero introspection, huh?
I wish I had that kind of confidence. I'm always questioning if I'm doing the right thing, or if I fucked up somewhere.
[Kill him!]
Thank you, Ddraig.
"Alrighty, how do you want to do this? Any rules, maybe just some good ol' fisticuffs?"
"I'm gonna punch you in the face!"
"Noted." I guess no rules then. "Ddraig --- Other Ddraig, anything you want to add?"
"On a scale of one to ten….how much?" Other Ddraig asked.
I was going to question him on that, but Ddraig answered for me. "[Minimum an Eight, probably closer to 9.]"
"…..well shit." The Other Ddraig seemed to deflate at that.
"We got this, Ddraig!" Issei yelled, hold his Gauntlet up. "Boost!"
"Why don't you boost up a few more times? Here, we can play this game together. Boost." I let mine Boost up too, just for fun.
"I don't need your help!"
"Issei, Boost up a few more times." His Ddraig was quick to correct him.
"Ddraig, I don't need his help!" Issei paused. "….Boost."
"So question, while we have time. Do you even know how to fight?" I asked.
"Of course!" He said proudly. "I was trained by Rias and everyone else. I even fought in the Rating Game."
You know, I'm questioning if he even bothered to pay attention to anything up to this point. So many clues as to how this was going to go, and I blatantly pointed out that Scáthach – The God Slayer, was my teacher. That alone should have given him some pause for consideration.
But no, it's just full steam ahead.
[He was probably distracted staring at her boobs.]
Shit, I can't blame him for that in all honesty, that happens to me too.
[Yeah, but you're not scream about it for everyone to hear.]
Fair.
"What martial arts are you learning? Any weapons? Magic? Touki?" I hummed. "Boost." I added another just for the hell of it.
"Boost!" Issei genuinely shouted it at the top of his lungs, for some reason. "I only need Ddraig to beat you up, handsome bastard!"
I glanced towards his supposed 'king'. "Really, nothing?"
"I was planning on stuff later!" The Alternate version of my aunt looked sheepish. "Besides, do you even know anything else? Our Takao just started learning Magic, how much could you possibly know at your point in time!?"
She tried to do her best to deflect.
I looked at Scáthach and she didn't visibly react, but there was a certain look of hers that I knew all too well.
It was the promise of a thorough beating, particularly, I could tell that it was if I lost. Which ,obviously wouldn't happen, but I could tell that she was sort of annoyed. Thankfully it wasn't directed at me for the most part.
"Kick his ass, Issei!" My other self shouted for encouragement.
"Yeah Issei, beat up Takao!" I also encouraged him.
"Fuck you!"
"Language!" Mom smacked him.
Issei boosted a few more times while I was distracted, and I rounded it off with one more boost myself.
Why was I boosting? Well, I had some thoughts in mind.
"You can keep going or begin whenever you want." I casually waved at him to proceed.
"Arrogant dick!" Issei let out a low growl. "Take this!" He ran up at me with his fist reeled back.
….right, a brawler with no battle sense developed.
I let out a sigh, watching his steps, as his right foot was about to hit the ground, I found my target. I looked at his shoe, and his shoelaces in particular. "Transfer."
The tension within his shoe laces was amplified by magnitudes, and as his foot hit the ground, they snapped, and he fell forward by the suddenness of losing the support on his foot where he put most of his weight and he went face first into the ground.
Ddraig just cackled madly from within my soul.
"Need a hand?" I offered.
"Bastard!" Issei roared, pushing himself back up to his feet, ignoring his lack of a shoe on his right foot and tired to charge at me again.
I lightly slid my foot out, shifting the earth beneath his feet so a small mount rose up as he tried to take a step and tripped again.
Once more, he went face first into the ground.
"It's alright, take your time."
"Raaah!" He shot back up and continued charging at me.
This time, I let him charge unabated. His Gauntlet covered hand went flying at my face, and I could see him put all of his strength and weight behind the blow.
I activated my semblance, and he went tumbling forward as his fist went right 'through' me and he lost balance.
For the third time, he hit the ground.
"So close that time!" I continued to offer my very genuine words of encouragement. "Want to try again?"
"Fight me for real, you bastard!" Issei was starting to get seriously pissed off at this point. "Boost!" He shot at me again.
Credit where it's do, atleast he doesn't give up when clearly outmatched I suppose.
"Scatter." I said softly, a fairly basic Illusion Magic I learned a long time ago in Skyrim. It dropped off once my opponents could see through it at a glance, but this was a good situation to use it again.
A few dozen copies of myself surrounded him and he just shouted and charged at the closest one.
Well, have fun with that.
I walked over to the others and quickly wrapped my arms around Scáthach.
"Should you be ignoring a fight, Student?" She seemed to want to chide me, but there was a noticeable lack of weight behind her words compared to normal.
"When a fight happens, I will be sure to focus on it."
"Wait, this is the real you?" My other self pointed at me.
"Yup." I rested my chin on Scáthach's shoulder.
"…..how does he not notice this?" Tako gestured to Issei 'fighting' my illusions and to me.
"Secondary illusion, he doesn't see me over here and to him, you're all standing around same as you were before."
"Don't bully people." Mom poked my cheek. "If he doesn't figure it out, end it...after awhile."
"Issei just isn't good at magic yet!" Rias quickly defended her pawn. "He's barely been introduced to everything as is! But he's always pulled through."
"He pulled through one time out of one?" I blinked. "I guess yes, but that logic, he does always pull through?" I mean, he only had one instance of a fight…? "Wait, didn't he lose the first time around in the Ratin Game? Technically, he would only pull through half the time by your logic."
"Shut up!" Rias huffed. "He'll win."
I glanced at the two Venelanas who shared a look then at Mom and her….lover? and the Maid. Still wrapping my head around the last bit there.
They all seemed to see the writing on the wall even if Rias was in denial.
"Why are there so many of you!?" Issei yelled amidst his imaginary fight.
"….right." I shook my head. "How about we have our Genius Magician give their commentary." I gestured to the plain girl at my other self's side.
Sona scowled, pushing up her glasses. "It's a basic spell that Issei would be able to break with any amount of Magical Training." She harumphed.
"Well, you're the expert in undoing illusions as seen earlier."
She started fuming and refused to respond to my barb.
Someone's in denial, actually several of them were.
I walked up between the Two Venelanas, smiling happily at both of them. And if it weren't for the bracelet mine was wearing, I would honestly not be able to tell them apart, they were wearing the same dress and everything.
Issei at that moment screamed much louder and actually shot at one of my clones and punched it into nonexistence fairly decisevly.
"What happened to him?" Akeno asked, blinking in surprise at his sudden increase in power.
"I made one of my illusions tease him."
"….what did you say?"
"I made a comment about a Venelana sandwich…."
Both Venelanas looked at me.
"Well, I wouldn't be against it." My Venelana was unphased.
The other Venelana chimed in with a little smile herself. "Well, now I'm curious as well.
"Mom!" Rias looked like she was going to let steam out with how red her face became.
"Stop flirting with my Grandma!" Takao demanded.
"That's enough out of you, mister." Mom grabbed me by the ear and pulled me away from the two Venelanas.
"It was a joke!"
"It was not." Scáthach revealed. "Pull harder."
It wasn't, that's true.
"Mother, please don't joke about sexual relations with my son." My alternate Father sighed, shaking his head.
"I wasn't joking." She said with a completely serious face.
There were a combination of groans among them.
"It must be hard handling him, I apologize for my son." Mom spoke to scathach.
"It can be trying at times, but I love him nonetheless." Scáthach smiled. "He just requires a beating every so often as a reminder."
"Aww~" Mom cooed. "You have my blessing to beat him up as many times as needed."
"Thank you, mother." Scáthach and her apparently were getting along.
"You can thank me by giving me grandbabies! My own Takao is too slow!"
"Mom, why are you so focused on that!? I'm not even an adult yet! Do you really want me to be a dad in highschool like some deliquent!?" Takao whined.
"Takao, you're a Devil, it's hardly an equitable experience." Mom said with a very straight face.
"Miss Takao, I must agree with Takao. I am not ready to have a child and our relationship is very much not at that point."
"Yeah mom, we aren't even sleeping together yet." Takao defended, realizing what he said and Sona gave him a red-tinged glare.
"Huh, a Miracle. Is God not dead in this world?" I mused allowed.
"Wilhelm, don't – " Mom stopped in her tracks. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That….was supposed to be a secret." The Maid's lips thinned.
"Oops."
My Alternate Father sighed again. "Don't spread it around, that's a fairly well kept secret. If it gets out, it would cause a bit of chaos even among our faction. There are plenty of Devils who would want to restart the war in full if they knew that the Biblical God was gone."
"…..how is he dead?"
"People die when they're killed." I answered.
"That's not what I mean!" He scowled.
"I'll process the Implications of that later…." Rias looked lost.
"Wait, if he's Dead, then….why is the Heaven Faction still so powerful? Why is the Religion still predominant? Wouldn't the other Factions start eating away at their influence?" Sona asked.
"It's….difficult to explain." My Alternate father said.
"They have the metaphysical equivalent of a Nuke pointed at everyone else due to the combination of worship and faith they have stored in their system. Theoretically, it's enough to utterly remove another Faction. And no one wants to be the one's to test it." I briefly explained.
"….or I guess it isn't." He smiled awkwardly.
"How do you know that?" My other self asked skeptically.
"You figure out a lot of things when you move up in the world."
"Bullshit."
"Aaah!" Issei roared, destroying another of my 'illusions'.
We all sorta…ignored it going on now, which was kind of amusing.
"Let me ask you a question in return." I held up my finger. "I've invoked God and you've even pointed out that I've done so, and it's explained that if you're strong enough it's a nonissue. Do you think I'm weak?"
"That…." My other self went silent. "But you're only a few years older than me."
"We've lived completely different lives." I crossed my arms feeling…annoyed for some reason. "Which makes me question, why this 'fight' was even 'allowed'." I looked at my Alternate Father and the Maid because they obviously realized the chasm between us.
"Wait, are you seriously saying you're stronger than Issei? But….he beat Riser, that's huge!" Rias spoke up.
"Is it? Is it really?"
"Yeah, he's one of the strongest of this generation's Pillar families!"
Aren't there only like a handul of kids her age from the pillar families as well?
"Riser admittedly is quite strong for our age group, even if I dislike him quite a bit." Sona added.
….he got beaten by Issei, the kid I was literally playing with right now as we spoke. The kid who was having trouble fighting illusions that had no combat power!
"You realize Sairaorg would wear him like a glove, right?" I asked with a deadpan.
Mom lightly smacked my shoulder.
"What's Cousin Sai got to do with it?" Rias asked.
"Wow you really….just don't have a clue do you?" I was in disbelief at this point. "Seriously what was the point is letting me 'fight' Issei?" I gestured to the kid who still hadn't beaten my Illusions, things that literally can't fight back as they're not real.
"That's not –"
"I thought it would be a good lesson for him." My Alternate Father spoke up. "Not being able to measure your opponent is fatal in most circumstances. He was blinded rather easily, and if he wants to be my Sister's Pawn and live up to his potential, he really needs to be better."
"…oh." Well that was actually a fairly decent reason. Personally, I didn't like being used as a teaching tool….actually that's a lie, I did enjoy doing this!
I twitched my foot and a pillar of dirt condensed and shot out of the group, hitting Issei right between the legs. "I'm helping."
[Good good, continue to 'help' him.] Ddraig sounded rather…sinister.
"I think my other self should join in." I looked at Takao.
"Pass!" He quickly hid behind Sona.
My Alternate Father cleared his throat. "I also wanted to see what my other son was capable off." He offered a genuinely warm smile and I found myself clenching my fists unconsciously. "And a bonus, it would help Takao here see where he stands and how to improve."
"And a fight is a good way to get a measure of someone." Scáthach added.
My Alternate father nodded. "That as well."
"Well, should I end things?" I said half-heartedly. "I'll let him see my ultimate technique!"
"You have an ultimate Technique!?" Takao's eyes widened.
"My God killing Meteor impact gun!"
I threw a brick at him.
It sailed through the air, smacking him in the face and he fell over.
"….what was that?" Sona asked in disbelief.
"My ultimate tech – "
"That is not what that is!" She hissed. "That was a brick!"
"….and?"
She threw her hands up in clear defeat as she acknowledged my ultimate weapon.
"Wilhelm, why did you throw a brick at him?" My mom asked rather calmly.
"Well, I used it to beat up a clown once before, I figured it would give me the conceptual advantage against another clown."
"No!" Rias raised her voice. "Issei won't lose! Issei, if you win, I'll let you touch my boobs!"
It's funny, despite everything, he shouldn't have been able to hear her. My illusion was covering our voices as well as the physical appearance of the surroundings.
Literally, he shouldn't have been capable of it.
Yet, his twitching body stilled.
As if a dam breaking, his Draconic Aura exploded outwards, and a familiar Scale Mail enveloped his body as he rose to his feet.
"Did….he just use Balance Breaker….?" I was unsure if I was seeing things correctly at the absurdity of this situation.
What kind of bullshit was that!?
"Yeah, Issei, show him!" Rias cheered happily.
"That's how Issei beat Riser." Takao sounded in awe.
"The famous Red Dragon Emperor's Scale Mail. Seeing it a second time doesn't take away from how suffocating it feels." Sona spoke as well.
I looked at them, and perhaps they misunderstood it as they seemed rather smug all together now.
My illusions all broke at the influx of power that exploded off him initially, so he turned and saw me properly.
"I'll win for the sake of Rias's Oppai!" He declared loudly, as if it were some life defining moment for him.
[Kill him. Then kill me. Then kill him a second time.] Ddraig sounded almost like he was in tears.
I took a few steps forward to avoid everyone else caught up around me as he seemed particularly focused on me right now.
"Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost." He boosted enough times that I lost count as he charged headfirst at me.
His arm glowed brightly and rather than throw a punch, it gathered a different kind of power around it. "Take this!" He roared as his hand appeared right infront of my face and the energy reached its precipice. "Dragon Shot!"
He fired a Dragon Shot at me point blank, right into my face.
Well, he had balls atleast.
I held my hand up, and blocked it.
Not even my Gauntleted hand, but my normal one.
The energy from his Dragon Shot Cascaded outwards all around us as my hand didn't budge an inch.
The Dragon Shot dissipated after a moment, and a Balance Breaker Issei stood there in stunned silence.
"Hey Issei, do you know what the Scale Mail means?" I asked, not expecting him to answer as my Elbow connected with his stomach, sending him hurling back across the yard. "It means you can take a beating."
"Wha –"
He was quick to stand up, but with a burst of Shunpo, I was behind him, kicking him forward, forcing him to bounce on the ground across the ground a couple times before he came to a stop.
Before he could get up, I grabbed his leg and threw him up in the air, and shot upwards, catching him before he began to fall and slammed down on him from above, accelerating his descent exponentially, and making him hit the ground with a massive thump.
I stood up, looking over his prone body and clapped my hands, wiping them of dust and grime that I accumulated over that quick round.
"Well, that was fun." I hummed, rejoining the others.
"Oppai….!" Issei groaned from the small crater he was in, slowly trying to crawl towards me.
[Put him out of his misery.] Ddraig told me.
And I complied.
A second brick went flying through the air and smacked him in the face again.
His body went limp with no movement.
"How…..how are you so strong?" Rias whispered.
I looked at her without the mocking tone I had before. "The difference between me and him is that when my Boosted Gear is called a Longinus, it's not hyperbole. I've actually fought and killed Gods."
[***]
A/N
Yoruichi makes a new friend, Tessai learns a few new things, and Issei gets slapped in the omake.
Part 6 of the omake is up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone
I also have a boosty under the same name if you can't use the above.