CH 161: FLEEING

Sitting in the garden, Senna couldn't help but feel weird.

'Why is she looking at me like this?'

The garden of the Gojo family was a true state of art. Thanks to the different artificial souls serving as gardeners, Unohana's love for flowers, and Soi Fon regularly bringing new seeds whenever she traveled, the garden was filled with exotic and beautiful flowers.

When she wasn't busy, Senna liked visiting this place and resting. It was also the favorite place of Ken-chan and Yachi.

That was why she brought Masaki here. She wanted to help her stay calm so that they could have a fruitful discussion.

But, ever since they entered, Masaki had been throwing veiled looks at her as if she really thought Senna wouldn't be able to catch them.

Sighing, she decided to advance the discussion.

"Masaki, I am sure you must have many questions. I am willing to answer most of them so feel free to ask."

"Most?"

Snapping out from her daze, Masaki raised an eyebrow and asked

"Yes. Most."

Masaki nodded and entered deep in thought.

"My first question…Are we still friends?"

'She never fails to surprise me.'

Masaki should have been quite confused but that didn't stop her from asking such a thing. Senna had to admit that she was quite happy. This was why her answer was evident.

"I always considered you as a friend."

The two girls smiled at each other, giving an even more vibrant color to the garden. Their smiles rapidly transformed into laughter and any feeling of estrangement between them vanished like smoke.

Like this, the discussion became way smoother as Masaki asked a bunch of questions while Senna answered to each of them patiently.

It had to be said that while Masaki had many questions, most of them were harmless. It was clear that she wasn't really interested in knowing the secret of the Gojo family.

"By the way, is that man really your father!? He looks so young! How old was he when he got you?"

Masaki asked excitedly. Gojo was a fatal attraction for girls at her age. Even more so after the stunt he pulled with the sky and the clouds.

But for Masaki, rather than his looks, what really interested her was his power. She could partially feel it.

For a moment, she had the feeling that she was facing a very powerful Quincy. The way he manipulated the Reishi around him was something that she had never seen.

In terms of pure skills, even Soken Ishida, the current patriarch of the Ishida family and an Etch Quincy like her seemed to be supremely inferior.

But how could it be possible?

Since Senna was a Shinigami, her father should also be one logically.

"My father is…!"

A few minutes later, Masaki already regretted asking this question of her.

In her mind, Senna had always been a somewhat mysterious and taciturn young girl. But this Senna was nowhere to be seen now.

For more than thirty minutes straight, Senna did nothing but speak about her father.

About how awesome he was.

About how cool he was.

About how strong and caring he was.

And so many other things.

Listening to her, one would be led to think that Gojo was the ultimate, supreme and a perfect being. Someone with no-fault who can make no mistake no matter what happened.

"You…you must really love your father."

Using the small interval during which Senna stopped to wet her lips, Masaki intervened.

"Indeed. Father is…"

Senna went on fire with another long tirade. But this time, Masaki did not stop her.

She could see that Senna was a huge father-con. This made her even more curious about the man named Satoru Gojo.

Of course, her curiosity was satiated pretty fast.

…

…

…

A few hours later, after leaving Gojo's house, her head was filled with many new things. But the most important thing was,

"I should tell uncle about this."

Gojo had given her the permission to inform her family about what really happened. It was clear that he did not care about what they thought and that he had no reasons to hide.

Masaki wasn't dumb either. From what she had seen, she knew that Senna alone would be enough to beat all of them if a fight happened. As for Gojo and the other women in that house?

She simply shivered at the thought. It was important that she made them understand that Gojo and the others weren't enemies.

'Hah…I already have a headache.'

—-

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

"Ginjo! Ginjo! Can you hear me!? Please speak!"

Under a collapsed bridge, a young black-haired boy with a long scar running above his left eye was frantically shaking another man.

The said man seemed to be completely comatose. His body was covered in blood and wounds and his clothes were nearly torn apart. It was clear that the man had just escaped a bloody fight.

"I…"

"Ginjo!"

"I am alright. Help me up, Tsukishima. We need to leave now."

Opening his eyes, the man, Ginjo, spoke with a feeble voice but with enough force to calm down the young boy.

"A-alright."

Speaking hurriedly, Tsukishima wiped his tears before lifting and placing Ginjo on his back.

Ginjo's heart ached at the sight of the trembling. But his heart ached even more at the feeling of betrayal.

'Why?'

He couldn't understand it. All his life, he wished for nothing more than to help others. Since he was a fullbringer, he knew very well the pain of losing those dears to you because of a hollow's attack and he wished such things for no one.

This is why he was so happy when someone came to his door and said that he was selected to play the role of a Shinigami Substitute.

During all the years that followed, he had been the perfect soldier. Never abusing his power, never slacking off, always giving his all.

But…It seemed that it wasn't enough for them. They had never believed in him and had put him under surveillance all those years.

Still, even if it was all, he was willing to forgive. He could understand why they doubted him and while it hurt, he was able to accept it.

This is why he had wished to discuss it with Jushiro Ukitake, the initiator of the program and his mentor.

Ginjo didn't wish for much, just some excuse from the man would be enough. He had used the badge to contact him for a meeting.

But what did he get when he went to the meeting?

Nothing but a trap.

A surprise attack was orchestrated by a bunch of Shinigami. If he hadn't been strong enough, then the only result would have been his death.

No trials. No way to defend himself. Just direct death.

The only one who knew about their meeting was Jushiro so the culprit was evident. He now understood that he could really believe in no one in this world.

'I will make them pay!'

Gritting his teeth, Ginjo focused again on Tsukishima,

"Use the Bringer–Light, as I taught you. I have a safe house not far from here."

"Understood."

Bringer-light was the result of the high-speed movement technique unique to Fullbringer.

By using the 'Souls' in the ground and in the air, it was possible for them to greatly increase their speed to a level not inferior to that of Shunpo or its equivalent.

Green light formed around Tsukishima before he suddenly vanished with Ginjo on his back. His speed was simply too high for anyone normal to follow.

Unfortunately, the one that was following behind them was in no way normal.