19 Goyya ch. 842-852
Chapter 842 A Parent part 1 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
AN: Thank you very much for waiting~!
In this part, I tried exploring the parent characters so I'm sure if I rushed it or just made things convoluted. I'd appreciate feedback, through comments or DMs.
P.S. I'm sending a txt file to everyone containing the gdocs links for your respective tier in case someone's access expired while still not being to read anything.
Barakiel slowly opened his eyes but inadvertently raised his arm to block the excessive illumination, as they were greeted by the bright sunlight that was coming from the window. However,by doing so, he winced in pain, rousing him further into consciousness, 'This... What happened?'
"You're awake.", Barakiel heard a familiar voice beside him and turned his head to see his 'Queen' sitting up on the bed with bandages covering his limbs and neck, "...Armaros." At that point, he already recalled what happened and endured the pain pinching his entire body to sit up, "We lost... miserably."
Barakiel looked around and saw the other patients in the room, still unconscious, "Looks like you're the most unhurt out of all of us."
Armaros smiled at his remark and replied, "I only had enough time to protect myself with some Magic. You, on the other hand, blocked most of it for the others."
"That's the least that I could do. Since we all still ended up this way, I guess we won't be able to continue competing."
"Then I'll send our notice of withdrawal later. In the first place, we don't really have any hopes of winning this cup with those monsters on board."
"I'm sorry for asking everyone to get along with my selfishness."
"Don't be. It was a good experience. As a bonus, you also came face to face with your son-in-law."
A scowl reached Barakiel as he vehemently denied Armaros words, "I haven't approved of him yet! I won't deny he's very capable but he's suspicious! I can't really give them my blessing because there's so much that doesn't make sense about him! I don't even know his real personality!"
Armaros' smile grew deeper, "You only get energetic whenever you're talking about your daughter. It's really a shame that you can't ask Kisuke Urahara about her. Shall we send another request to the Belial House?"
Barakiel nodded his head but soon after, he started rubbing his chin and wondered, "I understand that they can't just grant an audience due to their faction's current position, but I'm still Akeno's father so meeting him alone should be enough to ease their worries. There should be more to this, but I don't have any way to investigate it... Wait... Don't tell me something happened to Akeno!?"
As soon as that bad premonition came to Barakiel, he immediately put his feet on the floor, intending to leave the room, "Hey, hey, hey! Even though you're healed properly, you shouldn't move too much for the time being." Armaros warned.
Nevertheless, Barakiel further endured the pain and stood up, "Sorry, but I don't have time for that. I have to confirm it now or I won't be able to relax. Besides, the worst that could happen is reopening my wounds and that won't really kill me."
At this time, someone entered the room while bringing an empty wheelchair with her, "Please stay still for a moment. Allow me to help you."
Barakiel and Armaros both turned to the open door and found someone they haven't met before but both of them are familiar with, "Sarah Belial." muttered the former.
"Nice to meet you, Barakiel, Armaros. This may be a bit sudden but, Barakiel, could you perhaps spare me some of your time?"
Barakiel stayed silent for a moment, trying to think about this situation, before replying, "I've been trying to get into contact with your Household, so it should be me who's asking for your spare time."
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Leaving the medical facility, Sakura pushed the wheelchair she brought for Barakiel and the two of them stayed silent until they got to an expansive garden full of life, "First and foremost, I'd like to apologize."
"That you didn't allow me to meet your son?"
Sakura smiled wryly and nodded, "There's that but it isn't because of the reason Kisuke gave you."
"What do you mean?"
"It's because we didn't want you two to meet at a table. My sister and I concluded that it would be better for you to meet on the battlefield. For Kisuke's sake."
Barakiel creased his brows in confusion.
Sakura saw his obvious skepticism and added, "For now, I'd like you to listen to everything that I have to say first before judging anything."
Barakiel looked up and saw Sakura's expression of gentleness tinged with guilt and was surprised. Recalling what his subordinates would tell him how he looked whenever he would talk about his daughter, 'So this is the face of a parent, huh...'
"Please go on. I'll listen until the end."
Sakura sighed and revealed, "For some time now, we actually already have a way to contact those on the other side, including your daughter."
'Then why didn't you tell me!?' He wanted to ask since he has every right to know about that, but he was able to stop himself since he'd already promised he would listen first.
From then on, Sakura proceeded to tell him everything that happened to his daughter without hiding anything, during which Barakiel wanted to interrupt at every single turn but managed to hold it down.
At the end of it, Barakiel still couldn't find the reason why she didn't want to let him meet Kisuke, "I still have many questions regarding that story, but I'll let it slide for now because I trust you are speaking the truth that Akeno is already alright. But what does it have to do with you not wanting us to meet?"
"My selfishness... My own way of caring..."
Editors:
28th00: Oh yeah, doesn't she think of herself as a failure and a monster?
Redemperord: After a good break and a bunch of binge reading, my inner nazi couldn't contain itself…..so many places I wanted to correct in the last 100 chaps
Goyya: Thank you very much inner grammar nazi for cleaning my filthy grammar… Wait… I could still use a joke like that, right?
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Chapter 843 A Parent part 2 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
Sakura found a bench and placed the wheelchair beside it before taking a seat, "Care to explain?"
"Kisuke is a responsible guy. All the things he does, he's prepared to take whatever the resulting consequences are."
"Bragging now, are we?"
Sakura chuckled at him, "You might be right, but Kisuke's responsibleness goes beyond that and steps into the territory of 'self-blame'. You should already have an idea of what I'm talking about."
"So you're saying that if we were to meet just to talk, he'll apologize? What's so bad about that?"
"You think he's someone that would apologize?"
Barakiel recalled various stories about him and immediately shook his head, "No."
"That's right. As long as he doesn't feel any regret, he won't ever apologize for the things he has done."
"Isn't that how it normally goes?"
"Yes. But even as his mother that watched him grow up, I can count the number of times he's regretted things on one hand, and that's including all the small stuff. Does that sound normal?"
"If what you said includes his childhood, then that's indeed incredibly abnormal." After all, no one can really live their day-to-day lives without experiencing any kind of regret, 'It's either that there's something wrong in his head, all of his actions are calculated, or both. In any case, this opens various possibilities on what he really is, including that myth of 'complete reincarnation'... But less than a myth, that's more of a glitch in Heaven's system.'
"Then Kisuke is-"
"Kisuke is my child." Before he could finish his words, however, Sakura interrupted him with a forceful voice, "Kisuke is my child no matter what he does. I'm his mother no matter what others say or think. Nothing will ever change that."
Barakiel looked at her and thought, 'I see... So she's already aware. Well, if Akeno was the same, I'd have the same stance, so I can understand.'
Not wanting to dwell on this particular topic anymore, Sakura continued, "As I was saying, Kisuke won't just regret anything easily even if it appears to be crazy within everyone else's eyes. However, he seems to be unaware of it, but he does feel guilt. I don't know if my premonitions are wrong but, I think that piling up guilt may end up destroying him."
"Well, it's not like he doesn't have a way to get rid of that guilt, but to do that, he always takes all the blame as long as he had any hand in it, even if it wasn't a choice of his. If he were to meet you in a simple setting, he might have provoked you to hate him to ease his guilt."
"..." Barakiel was speechless for a moment, "...That guy who stood up in front of all the leaders with pride and confidence?"
Sakura laughed, "That's the guy~ He's not a liar, but he's also not honest."
Barakiel found it really strange and he had doubts regarding that claim, but he couldn't really say anything about that either since he's not his parent, "And isn't that a good thing? You said that guilt might destroy him someday, so why stop him?"
"It's because he's not alone. Taking the blame is essentially hurting himself and knowing him, he should be fine taking that since he's strong. However, that doesn't mean I and those around him want to see him get hurt. If it's the guilt, we'll take care of it ourselves."
"...I see... You're one doting parent, huh? Be careful. You might get hated."
Sakura grinned at him and replied, "I think you should remind yourself with that every now and then."
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"All the articles and public opinion are split." Seekvaira muttered while browsing the web through her smartphone, "It's amazing that you even got this much support even after the fact that you acted weak to manipulate the bets."
"That's because the character which was based on him has many fans and they're fine with getting fooled.", added Genshirou while also looking through the same things.
Seekvaira placed down her phone and faced Kisuke, who was silently sipping on his tea, "But seriously speaking, how many things can you actually do? In combat, one would only have one or two specialties yet you already showed three very different things at least at master level. In addition to that, you're also a researcher that's an expert in multiple fields. At this point, I think it's better to ask what you can't do. Even Ajuka-sama who's known to be very versatile only really comes down to two things, Magic and Magic Items."
"There are certainly a lot of things I can't do. It's just that the situation coincidentally could be managed by the things that I can do. So it looks impressive ,whereas I'm just similar to Ajuka-sama."
"A coincidence, huh..."
"Yep~ A coincidence."
It's only for a short time that Seekvaira came to know Kisuke but somehow, she couldn't believe that.
Editors:
28th00: Well, he's got a few centuries of endless war experience as a Captain. Well, not all of those years, but a pretty large number. The requirements to be a Captain are pretty ridiculous, all things considered too. Not to mention how he's anime-genius-mad-scientist, so it gets a bit wonky for him.
Goyya: Even in post Ywach era, Kisuke was able to create a smartphone that worked across realms. And those realms being both physical and spiritual.
Redemperor D
Taess
Chapter 844 The Elaborated Lie part 1 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
"Yo~! Hase!" A bespectacled young woman with messy brunette hair wrapped her arm around a cute girl with braided hairs' shoulder while greeting her with great familiarity.
Hase was startled for a moment but she immediately recognized the voice and calmed down, "Kiryuu-san, please stop attacking me from behind. I can never get used to it."
It was afternoon and the last class just ended so everyone was either going home or going to their respective clubs. Aika was also about to go home, but she saw a familiar back, so she decided to say hi and maybe kill some time while teasing her, "How can I stop~? Every time I do this, you squeal like a small hamster."
"Regardless, please stop doing it. It's really bad for my heart."
Aika grinned at her response and continued, "Really? Bad for your heart, huh? By the way, how is it going between you and Matsuda?"
"W-w-w-what do you mean? W-we're just friends!" Hase frantically explained while avoiding Aika's face.
"I see... You must be very good friends to go shopping last weekend with just the two of you~!"
"T-t-that... I asked him to help me choose a gift for my little brother's upcoming birthday!" Hase further explained with beet-red cheeks and a palpitating heart.
Aika separated from Hase with a small chuckle and said, "Now, now. Don't be nervous. Didn't he save you that one time, and you asked me to introduce him to you so you'd get to know him better? Nothing's wrong with the two of you getting along and maybe going a step further. Though he's a big pervert, he's a decent guy that won't commit a crime..." In the middle of it, Aika recalled the crime that the perverted trio had committed and pulled back, "Well... maybe except for voyeurism. You'll have to make an effort to stop that bad habit of his."
Hase looked at Aika's clear gold-colored eyes with curiosity and said, "Just now, you sound really mature. Do you perhaps have a boyfriend?"
Aika knew the answer to that question, however, just as she opened her mouth, she hesitated, '...What? Why am I hesitating? What is this feeling of loss? I shouldn't have any... or do I?'
But she immediately tossed that doubt to the back of her mind and answered, "Of course not~! All my experience comes from magazines."
Nevertheless, that slight bit of hesitation only enlarged the ember called curiosity within Hase's mind, "But didn't you lose a year's worth of memories? Who knows? Maybe you got close to someone and just forgot about him!"
Aika smiled wryly and immediately denied it, "If there was someone like that, he would have come looking for me long ago." But even refusing such a notion, she can't seem to get it out of her mind, 'Really... That's impossible.'
Disappointed, Hase sighed, "That's true... But it's really a wonder what you have been doing in Kyoto for the whole year. I heard you beat up a group of delinquents at the park when they tried to forcefully invite you to hang out with them. I'm sure you never took Karate or any martial arts lessons."
"Right~ My body instinctively moved and before I knew it, those guys were already groaning in pain on the ground. Good thing they love their pride very much and ran away before any officer arrived or else it would have been a mess to deal with."
Despite the casual way she addressed this issue, she found it strange that she has this ability and this strangeness helped doubt and fear sprout and bloom within her. Of course, she asked her parents about this and they only said that one day she wanted to enter a dojo that teaches Karate and Judo for self-defense. They have no idea why she wanted to do so, but they apparently supported her and helped her choose a school.
With them showing the receipt, there shouldn't be any room for uncertainty. However, she didn't mention to them that the moment she felt threatened, the first thing she instinctively wanted to do was to pull out her sword, 'There's nothing that said I ever learned Kendo, nor were there any masters of the sword among the instructors within that dojo... So why? Why did I think I had to pull out my sword?'
This occasion prompted Aika to further dig for information about her this past year from her parents, which in turn, they presented Aika with all sorts of documents ranging from school records, medical records, and even some photos and videos. Her existence was perfectly documented without any flaw. Little did they know that despite returning to her normal life, the daughter that they know was already a changed person.
Aika's personality didn't change nor did her world views and morals. However, the abilities that were directly ingrained in her body and soul couldn't be masked completely. While Aika responded normally to their stories about her, she was only thinking, 'They are lying...'
Through the subtle movement of their muscles, eyes, and breath, Aika reached to a conclusion that they must be lying, 'But why? And how were they able to prepare this elaborate lie that only happens in movies if it was one? And how the hell am I able to tell that they're lying? Did hitting my head awaken some kind of ability in me?'
All of these made her think that she might actually be in a simulation, which is a possibility that she threw right away into the realm of impossibility. Also from then on, due to her having numerous doubts, her 'detection' ability seemed to have improved as she could 'see' something different and special from a select few students and teachers, most of whom hailed from the Student Council and the Occult Research Club.
Without altering her parents' memories, this was the avenue that Kisuke left for her to return.
The curiosity she had for these individuals overflowed, so she attempted to investigate them. But this decision only came to be because she wanted to forget her current reality that was ripping apart her understanding of things.
Even then, the result of her stalking only ended up as attempts since whenever she tried following them quietly or waiting for them in hiding, she would always be discovered. She wasn't aware that she was leaking her own aura to these Devils.
"...Kiryuu-san!"
Hase's voice woke Aika from her deep contemplation, "Yes?"
"Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" Hase asked in concern, "You just suddenly started staring at nothing blankly."
"Ah, sorry about that. I'm just thinking of something trivial."
"Are you sure? This has been happening frequently. Why don't you try visiting a doctor? Maybe there's a complication developing that you're not aware of."
"It's true that I'm just thinking of something. Thanks for the concern though. I appreciate it."
Editors:
28th00
Redemperord: I thought it seemed reminding wouldn't make a difference since they are mortals lol, not sure if there is something more in line with the story than memory alterations, but that's all I could think of that wouldn't give them away, since her specs are just too high lol
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Chapter 845 The Elaborated Lie part 2 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
While walking through the hallway, the two friends came across one of the few foreign students enrolled in the school and the current leader of the Student Council, Xenovia Quarta, "Ah. We finally found you, Hase-san, Kiryuu-san."
"Good afternoon, President and Nakiri-san." Hase greeted them, including the current secretary of Student Council who is a young man with pale-blond slicked back hair, Ouryuu Nakiri, "Do you need us for something?"
"We finished our meeting early and wanted to discuss more urgent issues.", answered Ouryuu, "And that urgent issue happens to be the deteriorating security for our female students. So if you don't mind, we'd like to hear more of your opinion."
Xenovia smiled wryly and added, "I'm sorry. Since we couldn't just ask you to come to the Student Council room without any prior arrangements, we went out in hopes of catching up with either of you. This is also a sensitive topic, so I also understand if you don't want to talk about that incident since you two were victims of it."
Hase and Aika looked at each other and confirmed that they are okay with it, "...If we could help, we don't mind."
"Thank you."
After that, Hase and Aika were invited to the Student Council room to sit. It took about half an hour of discussion to convey everything Hase and Aika wanted to convey. Thanks to Xenovia's gallant aura and the presence of her friend, the timid Hase was able to get everything off her chest, significantly helping her current psyche that had been greatly disturbed during the forceful invitation by some delinquents.
"That's everything. Thank you for your time.", Xenovia arranged her notes, intending to end the sudden meeting there. But Aika was curious and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what sort of actions are you going to take knowing all of this?"
"We'll discuss everything with the Moral Guidance Department since the manpower that will do most of the patrol would be coming from them. But for now, we will be posting an advisory regarding this and contacting the other schools for this problem. If necessary, we'll also ask for the cooperation of the local law enforcement. Though, I don't want this issue to reach that point since that only causes unnecessary fear, not just for the students, but also for the parents."
Ouryuu, on the other hand, remained silent while looking at his own notes, 'Including them, there are already more than 10 of these kinds of incidents happening. This isn't just an emerging trend, but a sudden spike. Most likely, it was done by someone on that other side. Normally, we would already hand this task over to the Gremory House since this town is their territory, but with so many forces already gathering here, their forces are already stretched thin, so it looks like we'll have to take care of this ourselves.'
'But seriously... Who is this woman?' Ouryuu stopped thinking about the current issue and stole a glance to Aika, 'It wasn't obvious before, but now that I'm sitting with her like this, where is this terrifying aura coming from? The President and Vice President told me to not mind her and don't even bother her, but my curiosity is killing me... Is it really safe or wise to leave someone like this alone?'
Aika caught his glance and asked, "Is something the matter?"
Ouryuu panicked a little bit but immediately shook his head, "No. I'm sorry for staring. I'm just thinking of something."
At this moment, the door to the Student Council Room suddenly swung open and the worn-out Vice President entered, "Ahhhhh... Urahara is too much of a slave driver... I'm sorry that I'm late." It was also only then that he realized that there were other people inside the room and Genshirou immediately rearranged his appearance and greeted them, "Good afternoon to you, Hase-san, Kiryuu-san. I didn't know you were here."
But as soon as he looked at Xenovia's face, who seemed to be reprimanding him, Genshirou realized it, 'Hmm... Kiryuu?... Wait... Kiryuu is here!?' His thought process was revealed through his facial expression, 'Crap... Is it fine to mention Urahara's name here?' he sent a questioning glance at Xenovia but the latter only nervously stared at Aika.
With her heightened detection ability, Aika should have already noticed Xenovia's weird stare but the moment she heard 'Urahara', she shuddered and a sudden and inexplicable rage sprung up from within her. Along with it, however, was the feeling of loneliness and longing. Despite this, she tried her best to maintain her expression and asked, "This is the first time I've seen the Vice President complain about someone so wholeheartedly. Urahara was it? I'm really curious to who that is."
Genshirou managed to reel in his expression and was able to think about his reply properly, "He's a friend who asked me to join one of his projects for the college. I thought it'd be good for my record so I did it, but I'm regretting it now."
"Heh... Sounds like an interesting person. You should introduce me next time."
Genshirou thought that it would be weird to reject her so he nodded his head, "Sure. Next time."
Aika judged that she won't be getting anything out of him anymore and returned her attention to Xenovia and stood up, "I forgot that I still have something to do so I'd like to take my leave first."
Xenovia also stood up and approached her, "I see, then I can't hold you back anymore. Thank you for your time. We were able to learn a lot of things."
"Happy to help~."
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Aika thought that she was walking aimlessly, but before she knew it, she, once again, arrived at the park not very far from her place, 'Looks like this is my go-to place when I'm feeling uncomfortable.'
Finding herself a bench far from the noise, Aika heaved a huge sigh and leaned back while massaging the temple of her head, 'Just what's going on? Who is this Urahara? I'm angry and feeling sad just because I heard a name? That doesn't make any sense.'
Once she'd calmed down, Aika tried to recall the earlier interaction as best as she could to analyze the situation without her uncontrollable emotions hampering her judgment, 'Even though Saji responded with a perfectly normal answer, the expression he had when he mentioned Urahara seemed strange. It's as if he knew he made a mistake after seeing me.'
But no matter how much she wracked her head over this instance, she couldn't think of any plausible conclusions, 'As expected, I won't be able to think of anything without any details. However, I can assume that something is happening involving me without any of my knowledge. Just what did I forget? Haahhh... My head hurts.'
While facing up and having her forearm on her eyes, Aika suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out to her, "You're too young to let out a sigh like that."
Aika fixed her posture and saw a beautiful tall lady with long black hair, wearing a baggy white sweatshirt, tight jeans, and a gray baseball cap, carrying some groceries, "You are..."
The lady smiled and said, "We meet again, high school girl. Right, I forgot to introduce myself last time." Extending her hand, the lady introduced herself, "Nice to meet you again. I'm Urahara Benihime."
Editors:
28th00: Benihime is about to ruin Kisuke's day.
Redemperord: Well, Saji ruined it first… she is pouring lava on it
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Chapter 846 The Elaborated Lie part 3 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
Instead of replying to her introduction, she muttered in a low voice, "...U-Urahara?"
Benihime immediately took notice of her abnormal condition and stared straight into her eyes and saw them having a small tinge of red, 'This... Could it be...'
Benihime approached Aika and patted her shoulder, "Student, are you alright? You don't look too good."
A few seconds later, while Aika was trying to suppress the mysterious rage she was feeling, it suddenly went away as if she was just hallucinating, 'W-what was that!?'
Without her knowledge, the moment Benihime patted her shoulder, she sent her authoritative intent towards the twins raising a ruckus, and was able to 'convince' them within just that short amount of time, [What a handful. If I didn't stop you, you may have irrevocably damaged her psyche and soul. Stay put. You two can take out your resentment on Kisuke once this whole ordeal is over.]
After this, Aika's Zanpakuto Spirits ceased their activities and retreated back to the centermost part of Aika's soul.
As soon as she calmed down, Aika realized that she had been staring at Benihime strangely, "I'm sorry! I'm fine."
Benihime took a step back and feigned ignorance, "Are you sure? You look pale and you reacted strangely to my name. Do you know me?"
A massive headache crushed her which made her hold her temple tightly, "Your name... No... I don't know you... I don't know... I know I don't... But why...?"
'Curse you, Kisuke... I didn't think you'd put such a strong seal. No wonder those children are pissed.', Benihime thought as she supported her to sit down since it seemed that she was about to lose her balance, "It's fine to act tough, but you have to actually do the act or you'll just be unreasonably pushing yourself. My place is just around that corner. You can rest there for the time being and as thanks for your help last time, allow me to treat you to dinner."
Aika wanted to refuse her offer, but in her current state, she didn't want to face her parents for a moment due to that fear that slipped into her, 'Just what are they hiding? And why hide it?' She should have known that it must be for her own good since she didn't doubt their love and care of her. However, due to the unexplained emotions suddenly taking over her and disorientating her judgment, she became a little bit afraid of them, 'In any case... I might get something out of this 'Urahara'.'
That's what she thought, at least. The truth is, her emotions were so jumbled that she didn't really know where to place them. While she might really have a tingeof fear of her parents, most of it actually came from the missing memories and she just wrongfully placed it on the former.
As soon as she nodded, Benihime smiled and led Aika to the place she's currently staying at.
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"Make yourself comfortable while I make us dinner." Benihime offered her some tea and added, "This tea has a calming effect. It should help you out."
"Thank you." After taking a sip from the cup, Aika immediately felt its warmth entering her body in a good way and she could feel her hurried breath that she hadn't even noticed, relaxing, "...It's delicious."
"I'm glad you liked it. It's an original mix of mine."
"Really? I thought it was some high-class tea leaves."
"There are some mixed in, but it's mostly from common leaves. Do you want anything in particular? Or maybe some things that you don't eat?"
"Please don't mind me. I'll go with what you've already planned to make. Truthfully speaking, just drinking this tea already made my entire trip worth it."
"My~ Is that so?" Benihime adeptly chopped the vegetables while also carefully tossing the beef cubes into the hot pan, "But if the tea has that much effect on you, you must be really troubled."
Aika hesitated a little bit before asking, "How can you tell?"
"The tea may have a great calming effect but it's really only effective for those who are really tense. Your body's tension has significantly dropped while your voice has become softer. Normally, it wouldn't have that kind of effect."
Aika stared at her tea for a few moments before muttering, "I see... It's a strangely wonderful tea."
Benihime peeked at her and asked, "You won't ask if I'm telling the truth or if such a strange blend could actually have such an almost magical effect?"
"There's already a ton of things that don't make sense around me. For now, I don't want to add the 'baggage' that this tea will bring into my head if I think about it."
"...Must be tough. Turn on the TV to distract yourself with something. It's better than you blankly staring at some random space."
Aika did as Benihime instructed and from then on, the house was veiled by the TV noise and the boiling and sizzling sounds from the kitchen.
The two of them only started talking again when Benihime began setting the table. But after that, the silence between them continued. Strangely enough, however, Aika thought that things should have become awkward, but she couldn't find that kind of atmosphere at all. If anything, the current situation resembled a pleasant and relaxing place. She found solace when she needed it the most.
Editors:
28th00: Absolutely going to Ruin. His. Day.
Goyya: Let's all be honest, even in canon, Benihime isn't portrayed as someone very obedient. Though she's going to be in so much 'pain' in the future, lol.
Redemperor D
Chapter 847 The Elaborated Lie part 4 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
After their peaceful and delicious dinner, Benihime offered another set of tea which aids digestion. Sitting in front of her, Benihime started, "Now then, since you've significantly calmed down, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"
Aika remained silent, not meeting her eyes.
"I know I can't really force you to say anything, especially to a stranger like me. However, even though you've been able to bottle up everything till now, it doesn't mean your troubles have disappeared Sooner or later, it'll erupt like it almost did today. Besides, I'm curious since I seemed to have triggered a response thanks to my name. I'd think you'd have some sort of resentment against me if anything."
Aika looked up to her and saw her small smile, "It's unfair for you to say it like that, you know? Now I feel like I have to give you a suitable explanation."
Benihime's smile grew deeper and said, "Isn't that fine? And who knows? Because I'm a stranger to you, you might have a better time letting it all out instead of filling the space between you and those you know."
Aika became silent once again, but Benihime didn't press for a reply and just waited. In any case, she didn't really care if she could make Aika open up to her now. since she had already made a good connection to her and could always get close to her using various pretenses, 'With me around, her 'return' should be just around the corner.'
While she understands what Kisuke was trying to do with Aika, that doesn't mean she necessarily agrees with it. In fact, she doesn't really like how he's treating her so delicately at all.
If it was any other person except for Yoruichi who understood the situation, 'delicate' would be the last thing that'd enter their minds. However, as Kisuke's lifelong partner, she knew how much care he was giving to the girl, 'He still wants to treat her like a normal girl and take responsibility.'
'Since she possessed that Sacred Gear, her involvement on this side was already set in stone and him being there was just a big coincidence. Even then, he still felt responsible for dragging her along. This is a side of him that's helped him maintain his fighting spirit and pride, which is a good thing, but it's also tied himself down.'
Until now, Benihime still didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing, 'While she started as a normal girl, that isn't the case anymore and there's no need to hurry to make her realize it because of her lifespan and those around her was already a trivial matter to fix. At some point in time, her mindset would have completely adapted to her surroundings. Kisuke is really too kind to have given her this kind of chance, even knowing that she's someone useful.'
That's right. While Kisuke put more importance on his relationship with those who are important to him, Benihime could only see their usefulness to him and her.
A moment later, Aika looked up once again and said, "Even if I wanted to answer you, I don't have one. More than you, I also want to know about 'Urahara'."
Benihime immediately feigned surprise and confusion, "What do you mean?"
Aika then went on to tell her how she lost her memories and the inconsistencies she's feeling, "Even if I wanted to tell you why I reacted that way, I myself don't know why."
"Heh~ What an interesting story. On a side note, are you telling me this, fully aware that I might be the 'Urahara' that you reacted to and I could just be pretending to not know you?"
Aika, without any hesitation, nodded, "That's true. But I have my own reasons to believe that you're not the person."
"And those are?"
Aika didn't answer nor did she show any signs that could give Benihime a clue.
'Heh~ She suddenly became cautious. I wonder what gave it away? How amusing.'
In truth, Aika just didn't know how to explain it. Her own gut was telling her that she's not the one. Moreover, the longer she stayed here, the clearer it became that Benihime is not 'normal'. Even though her Zanpakuto was sealed and Benihime was carefully hiding her own aura, Aika was somehow able to get a glimpse that something was not right. The origin of her abilities were almost impossible to seal unless it was something like Aizen's chair.
Benihime then leaned back and continued, "In any case, as far as I know, I'm the only Urahara currently in Kuoh Town. With that said, I don't know this Genshirou Saji personally, so maybe there's indeed a wild Urahara out there that you might want to meet?"
"Then setting that aside for now, what do you think of these strange abilities of mine? Normally, you'd think I'm just going crazy, wouldn't you?"
"That's true. Normally you'd be called out as crazy if you're to tell this to most people."
"You won't?"
"I don't really have any opinion on it. If you want to hear a normal response, I'd say go get some help from a professional. But that isn't why you're here."
Aika looked down once again and muttered, "...Yeah. I may need help, but I don't want it now."
"So what does it feel like now that you were able to let it all out?"
"It gave way to a more concerning issue."
"Hmmm... Let me guess. Now that you're pretty sure that you aren't going crazy, you also realized that your parents probably aren't aware of any of this even though they vehemently try to hide things from you. If these abilities are true, then you're afraid that your own parents might look at you as a monster."
Aika clenched her teeth, since it was exactly as what Benihime had just described. Setting aside all the complications of the situation, she'd become afraid of what kind of look her parents might give her. She also started to think that this may be the very reason that they wanted to hide the truth behind her memory loss, 'If it's truly like that, then shouldn't I stop snooping around?' She thought as her inkling to just forget everything relating to this increased.
Editors:
28th00
Redemperor D
Chapter 848 A Slight Miscalculation | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
AN: Thank you for waiting~
Aika didn't know what to do, nor did she have any idea that the place where she'd found solace might've been a tiger's den.
Sensing her increasing discomfort, Benihime chuckled and stopped hiding her aura.
As soon as she let go, something invisible instantly hit Aika's face and she immediately paled. It was as if a blast of poisonous air went past her, "W-what are you?"
"What's with that question? Obviously, I'm a normal woman living in a normal place.", answered Benihime after sipping her tea, "Do you see me as some sort of monster?"
But instead of answering her question, Aika stood up in a hurry, "Thank you for having me. I'm going home." Without waiting for her reply, Aika just bowed down and walked towards the door. She thought that Benihime would be stopping her when she suddenly spoke behind her. But it turns out, Benihime was just clarifying something, "For the record, this is only the second time we've met."
Aika didn't reply and just continued her steps. Her brisk gait didn't stop until she reached the front gates of her house. While hearing the dishes being washed and the television running, Aika looked around and tried to sense her surroundings, afraid that Benihime might've followed her home. A few minutes later, she couldn't find anything strange and finally made her entrance, "I'm home."
"Aika? I thought you were staying over with your friends?" Her mother came out to greet her but saw that she was making a strange expression and became worried, "Is something wrong?"
Aika immediately smiled but she didn't know she couldn't make it properly, "I-I'm fine. I'm just tired, so I'll sleep early tonight." Aika continued walking and went past her mother and immediately went up the stairs.
Haruto came out of the living room and saw his wife staring at the stairs with an extremely concerned expression, "What happened?"
"...I don't know. This is the first time I've seen her make a face like that."
Haruto followed her line of sight and sighed. Ever since Aika came back, Honoka became much more paranoid. That in itself was normal, however, Haruto hated himself for not being able to ease her worries, '...Let's just watch for a few more days... Maybe something could change.'
And that change came abruptly and unexpectedly as Aika refused to leave her room from that day on.
.
.
.
The moment that Aika had left Benihime's place, Benihime immediately heard Kisuke's cold voice in her head, [What was that for?]
But Benihime just took it in stride and replied, [As expected, you're watching.]
[...It's obvious that my seal would react the moment she made contact with someone like you.]
[So you didn't exclude me from that alarm even though you did for the students of that Academy.]
[...I specifically activated it when you decided to operate separately.]
[My~ I'm honored for the distinction.]
[Stop changing the topic. What was that for?]
[For nothing, really. In the first place, I never revealed anything to her. Whether she got something from me relaxing for a bit, it'll be up to her. On top of that, you know that our contact is just a coincidence and if there's someone at fault here, it would be you for being overly protective and sealing everything, making her own attributes and power work against her.]
[...]
[A slight miscalculation, I see. That's what you get for always calculating everything even when you know that intelligent beings are illogical at their core.]
[...]
[And don't worry about it. I won't be initiating any contact with her from here on, and I doubt she will either. However, I won't refuse a visit from her.]
At that point, Benihime felt Kisuke's presence disappear from her mind and sighed, '...You've been making a lot of mistakes ever since coming to this world, but I guess that's where growth starts.' Benihime smiled while thinking about the unknown future they are heading towards, 'Well, it's a lot less boring this time.'
.
.
.
On the other side, Kisuke stayed laying down, 'As expected, I couldn't understand a girl going through puberty... Is Aika even going through one? In any case, I have to prepare my cheeks for an inevitable punch in the face.'
'But I should've known that this was bound to happen knowing Benihime's personality.' In the end, a smile surfaced on Kisuke's face, wondering how they'll meet again.
Editors:
28th00
Redemperord: why not in a bed with her on top lol and him tied up
Goyya: Looking back now, this was a short chapter.
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Chapter 849 Erebus' Challenge | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon
The next day, Kisuke received a notice from the Tournament's committee that they'd be canceling today's games due to receiving intel of a suspected terrorist attack on Kyoto. And not long after that, Erebus and a large army of unknown Devils were sighted. Thankfully, the Hero Faction was in the area and Georg was able to assist Yasaka to create an artificial space so that the upcoming battle wouldn't affect the real Kyoto.
"Kisuke! What should we do?" Genshirou came charging into the Belial manor to get Kisuke's opinion.
As if he couldn't be bothered, Kisuke stayed laying down as he answered, "You don't need to get permission from me. And you have your own group that you could go with, don't you?"
Dumbfounded, Genshirou asked, "I-I do... But what about you? Aren't you going to help?"
"Uncle Diehauser and his peerage are already on the way and you do know the current state of the Belial House, so I can't exactly leave this place unguarded."
Genshirou finally understood Kisuke's stance, "I see... I'm sorry for not realizing it sooner. I'll be on my way." With Sona's former peerage members, Genshirou embarked to defend the capital of Japanese Mythology.
'But it's really too strange that it's just the Yokai Faction that's going into action. Are they really that confident or there's a reason why they couldn't move? The fact that they didn't even participate in the Azazel Cup points the scale to the latter. Too bad I don't have any spare resources to investigate them now and half-assed snooping will only work against me.'
