Chapter 33: Fragments of Peace
Looking at the gathered Shinigami, I immediately noticed that most of them had started sweating at Ichigo’s declaration.
The only exception was Kenpachi.
If anything, the man looked even more excited now.
Typical battle junkie.
Silence suddenly descended over the battlefield after Ichigo’s statement, most of the Shinigami now visibly hesitant to act.
Then my laughter broke the tension.
“Hmhm… wahahahaha!” I burst out laughing as I wiped a fake tear from my eye. “Well, I’ll be damned. Can’t say I expected that.”
Several strange and confused looks were directed my way, all of which I completely ignored.
Instead, I casually patted Ichigo on the shoulder, getting his attention as he glanced toward me from the corner of his eye.
“While I appreciate the sentiment,” I said with an amused grin, “now’s probably not the best time to make your friends question your loyalties, Ichigo.”
I gave him a meaningful look.
“Not with what’s coming soon.”
Ichigo immediately understood what I meant.
A small grimace appeared on his face before he silently nodded.
Letting go of his shoulder, I stepped forward instead.
Looking over the still-tense Shinigami, I calmly met each of their gazes.
My expression only softened briefly when my eyes landed on Rukia, who returned a shaky smile of relief.
“I’m only gonna say this once,” I stated calmly. “So pay attention.”
Crossing my arms, I continued.
“Pretend I was never here and this ends peacefully with everyone going their separate ways.”
My face turned blank afterward.
“…Or,” I continued with a shrug, “you can ignore my advice and I’ll beat all your asses before leaving anyway.”
“Your choice. Makes no difference to me.”
After saying my piece, I fell silent and waited for their response.
Most of them wore conflicted expressions.
Rukia visibly relaxed while Renji looked similarly relieved, though less openly.
Eventually, Byakuya stepped forward with a reluctant expression.
“Very well. We accep—”
Naturally, Kenpachi ruined everything.
With a grin full of battle lust, the lunatic launched himself at me before Byakuya could even finish speaking.
“Let’s see how strong you’ve gotten, Caius!” Kenpachi roared excitedly.
Right behind him charged Ikkaku and Yumichika with their swords already drawn.
“Wait, you fool!” Tōshirō shouted in anger and alarm.
Kenpachi ignored him completely.
Letting out a tired sigh at the predictable outcome, I glanced toward Ichigo and gave him a small shrug before disappearing from sight.
The next instant, I appeared directly in front of Kenpachi.
I saw his eyes widen almost in slow motion as his brain and body tried to catch up with my speed.
“You’re still far too weak for me to take seriously, Kenpachi Zaraki,” I stated coldly.
Then I kicked him before he could react while still mid-flight.
I held absolutely nothing back behind the attack.
Physical wise anyways.
My left leg slammed into his stomach hard enough for the sound of bones cracking to echo through the air before Kenpachi was violently launched into the distance like a cannonball.
“Captain!” Ikkaku and Yumichika shouted furiously a moment later when their brain comprehended what had happened as everything happened in the blink of an eye.
“Fools,” I muttered.
Appearing directly in front of them, I watched both men visibly flinch from my sudden presence.
Neither even had time to react.
A massive wave of Demon Lord’s Haki exploded outward from my body.
Both men froze instantly before their eyes rolled back and foam formed at the corners of their mouths as they lost consciousness and fell from the sky.
A moment later, a gigantic wave of ice rushed toward me from the side.
Without even looking, I raised my hand and casually devoured the entire attack with Beelzebuth before finally turning my gaze toward Tōshirō who was already in Bankai.
The young Captain was sweating heavily beneath the crushing pressure of my Demon Lord’s Haki.
“Not very smart.”
Tōshirō didn’t respond.
Instead, he launched another massive wave of ice toward me—
—which was immediately devoured just as effortlessly as the first.
“And here I thought you’d be more cool-headed than the berserker,” I remarked calmly.
My lips twitched slightly at my own joke.
Tōshirō, unfortunately, did not seem to appreciate the pun.
“Berserker or not, he’s still a fellow Captain that you attacked!” he snapped with a frown.
Apparently deciding ranged attacks weren’t working, the young Captain immediately switched to close combat and charged toward me directly.
Unfortunately for him, the instant he entered striking distance, I used Instant Motion and vanished.
I reappeared directly in front of Byakuya, Renji, and Rukia.
All three already had their hands on their Zanpakutō and looked seconds away from joining the fight themselves.
Thankfully for them, I had already fully reined in my Demon Lord’s Haki.
Otherwise, I had little doubt Rukia—and possibly Renji as well—would have already collapsed unconscious.
The trio visibly flinched at my sudden appearance and instinctively stepped back.
Keeping one hand casually in my pocket, I looked at them calmly.
“I’m glad you didn’t decide to rush in like idiots,” I said with an appreciative nod. “You have my thanks for that.”
Then I tilted my head slightly.
“Now then, let’s try this again. I’m planning to leave. Any objections?”
Byakuya frowned while maintaining a tense posture.
Finally, after several moments, he spoke.
“…Are they alive?”
Realizing who he meant, I shrugged carelessly.
“Probably,” I answered casually. “I broke around sixty percent of Kenpachi’s bones so he’d stop getting back up and annoying me, but that’s about it.”
“As for the other two, they simply passed out after I released a portion of my strength.”
A moment later, Tōshirō arrived beside the others.
Thankfully, he refrained from attacking this time and simply stood behind me with Hyōrinmaru still drawn and a serious expression on his face.
“…Fine,” Byakuya finally said after another tense silence. “Leave.”
He slowly removed his hand from his Zanpakutō.
Renji and Rukia visibly relaxed while Tōshirō reluctantly deactivated his Bankai.
“Even if we attempted to take you in,” Byakuya continued sourly, “with our current forces, it would be impossible.”
“Wise choice,” I replied with a small smirk.
Though honestly, I was a little tempted to tell them that even if every Captain in Soul Society came after me at once—
It still wouldn’t make much difference.
The Captain Commander, the strongest Shinigami outside of the Zero Squad, and their biggest hope of taking me down, would be completely powerless against me.
After all, I was entirely immune to elemental attacks.
Which meant Yamamoto’s flames would do absolutely nothing to me.
Relaxing slightly now that things had calmed down, I finally turned my attention properly toward Rukia and gave her a small smile.
“Hey, Rukia. Nice seeing you again.”
She immediately returned a shy wave, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks while Byakuya looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“H-Hello, Mister Sl—Ahem! I mean Aurelius-san,” Rukia corrected herself awkwardly, blushing even harder after the slip-up.
A grin tugged at my lips.
“Hmhmhm. Hopefully our next meeting happens under better circumstances,” I replied lightly. “Take care.”
I gave her a small wave before nodding toward Renji and Byakuya as well.
Finally, my gaze shifted toward Tōshirō.
A smirk instantly appeared on my face.
“You still need more training, shorty.”
The moment his eyebrow twitched angrily, I disappeared from their side entirely.
A second later, I reappeared beside Ichigo and the others.
Ichigo reacted first as everyone turned toward me.
“Well, this is where we part ways for now,” I said with a small smile. “Keep training, everyone. I’ll see you all again once everything starts.”
“Take care, Aurelius-san~” Orihime replied cheerfully with a wave while Chad simply gave me a respectful nod.
“…Thanks for not killing them,” Ichigo muttered quietly while looking off to the side.
“Wahahaha! Don’t go getting soft on me now, Strawberry,” I laughed before suddenly appearing beside him and dragging him into a loose chokehold while aggressively rubbing my knuckles against his head.
“Tsk! Let go, asshole!” Ichigo shouted while struggling unsuccessfully to escape.
Orihime immediately started giggling at the scene.
Ignoring his complaints, I leaned closer and lowered my voice enough so only he could hear me.
The moment I spoke, Ichigo froze.
“I had a skirmish with Yhwach a few days ago.”
His eyes widened instantly.
“From what I gathered during our brief fight,” I continued quietly, “the war should begin in a month at the earliest.”
“Use that information however you want.”
Then I suddenly released him and stepped back with a grin as if nothing serious had just been said.
“Later, guys~”
And with that—
I vanished from the battlefield.
=====
With Ichigo and Co.
With Caius finally gone, Ichigo let out a slow breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly now that the situation hadn’t escalated into a full battle.
Even after training with Caius for months, Ichigo still had no real idea where the limits of the slime’s strength actually were.
But one thing he knew with absolute certainty—
Caius had held back heavily during that brief confrontation.
Hell, the bastard had been far more brutal during their training sessions.
Which meant if Caius had genuinely wanted to kill everyone present—
Ichigo wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
Thankfully, aside from Kenpachi—who was currently being healed by Inoue—everyone else was mostly unharmed.
Though several of the Shinigami still looked frustrated and irritated by how powerless they’d been.
One month.
The words repeated endlessly in the back of Ichigo’s mind.
In just one month, a war unlike anything he had ever experienced would begin if Caius’s words were to be believed and at this point he had no reason to distrust him.
A war that threatened all Three Worlds.
The thought distracted him so much that he barely even greeted the Shinigami friends he hadn’t seen in nearly two years.
In fact, he completely failed to notice the increasingly irritated glare a certain black-haired midget was sending his way after being ignored repeatedly.
A second later—
SMACK!
Ichigo winced as someone punched him in the back of the head hard enough to snap him out of his thoughts.
Turning around angrily, he immediately spotted the culprit.
A short girl with short black hair and purple eyes.
Standing beside her was a tall red-haired man with tribal tattoos across his face.
Rukia and Renji.
“You idiot!” Rukia shouted furiously, her fist still raised threateningly. “I’ve been calling your name for the past several minutes! Get your head out of your ass!”
“Tsk! Did you really have to hit me that hard, you midget!?” Ichigo immediately barked back while rubbing the back of his head.
“I did when you ignored me for several minutes!” Rukia snapped back even louder.
The two immediately began growling at each other like a pair of angry wild dogs.
Then—
Almost simultaneously—
Both suddenly broke into smiles.
“It’s been a while, Rukia,” Ichigo greeted with a hint of a smile on his lips.
“Indeed,” Rukia replied with a smile of her own as she crossed her arms.
Then she took a proper look at him.
More specifically, at the two Zanpakutō resting at his back and hip.
“We heard you regained your powers,” she said with an impressed nod, “but it’s still incredible seeing it for myself.”
A grin spread across her face.
“You finally look like a proper Shinigami now.”
“Yeah…” Ichigo muttered softly as he looked down at his hand and clenched it slightly, feeling the power flowing beneath his skin once more.
“Caius somehow restored them.”
Rukia blinked before nodding slowly, not looking particularly surprised.
“I figured Mister Slime was involved somehow,” she admitted. “Still, restoring lost powers like that is unbelievable.”
“Hmph. That bastard’s complete bullshit,” Ichigo grumbled with a scowl. “At this point I just stopped questioning whatever nonsense he pulls out of his ass… or whatever the slime equivalent of that is.”
“You idiot, slimes don’t have asses,” Rukia immediately corrected while somehow sounding offended on Caius’s behalf.
Ichigo’s eyebrow twitched.
He could practically hear Caius smugly claiming that girls naturally defended him because he was cute.
‘Tsk. Even when he’s not here, the bastard still manages to piss me off,’ Ichigo thought irritably.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ichigo muttered dismissively. “What happened to Chappy anyway? I thought you were obsessed with that thing.”
“What’s wrong with liking both!?” Rukia snapped back with a blush, looking ready to punch him again.
Before their argument could escalate further, several figures approached.
Byakuya.
Renji.
Hitsugaya.
And behind them—
A fully healed Kenpachi who looked grumpy probably at not getting the fight he wanted.
“Kurosaki Ichigo,” Byakuya spoke calmly, drawing both Ichigo’s and Rukia’s attention. Rukia immediately straightened slightly, looking more nervous under her brother’s presence.
“We wish to speak with you,” Byakuya continued. “Specifically regarding Caius Aurelius and the information Kisuke Urahara relayed to us after speaking with you.”
Ichigo’s expression immediately turned serious again.
“Yeah,” he answered quietly. “There’s also something else I need to tell you. Something I only recently learned myself.”
“What is it?” Hitsugaya asked while crossing his arms.
Ichigo frowned before answering.
“We only have about a month left to prepare.”
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
Everyone present visibly tensed at his words, grim expressions forming across their faces.
War was approaching.
=====
Back With Caius
Reappearing back home only a few steps away from the front door, I casually stepped inside the house.
To my surprise, everyone was gathered together in the living room for once.
Even the newest additions to the group—Yin and Yang, the two Arrancar Tier and Starrk had rescued from Hueco Mundo—were present along with Starrk’s lazy ass.
My arrival immediately caught everyone’s attention.
“Caius!”
I was quickly greeted by the group, with Nelliel, Riruka, and Lilynette being the most enthusiastic as usual.
Meanwhile, Yin and Yang simply offered me respectful nods, still seemingly getting used to both my presence and life in the World of the Living.
‘Well, at least they don’t tremble every time they talk to me anymore. That’s progress,’ I thought in amusement.
“Hey everyone,” I greeted back with a smile.
“Did you have fun teasing Ichigo?” Nelliel asked with amused eyes and a raised eyebrow, earning giggles from several others.
“Heh, you bet I did,” I replied with a scoff. “That Strawberry is so easy to tease it’s basically become a habit at this point.”
More laughter spread through the room.
“Anyway,” I continued while slipping my hands into my pockets, “I just wanted to let you all know that I’ll be gone for the next few days. I’ve got some things to take care of, so feel free to spend the time however you want.”
“Where are you going? Can I come?” Riruka immediately asked while giving me blatant puppy eyes.
Nelliel and Tier also looked at me curiously.
Doing my absolute best to ignore how unfairly effective Riruka’s expression was, I shook my head apologetically.
“Sorry, Riruka. Not this time,” I said reassuringly. “Maybe next time.”
Riruka puffed her cheeks out into a pout but eventually nodded reluctantly.
“Okaaaay…”
“Any other questions before I leave?” I asked while glancing around the room.
Most of them shook their heads.
Tier, however, cleared her throat softly before speaking.
“Could we spar once you return?” she asked calmly, though there was still a trace of embarrassment hidden beneath her composed tone. “I want to better adjust to my new form before the war begins.”
“Of course,” I answered immediately with a smile.
Tier returned it with a thankful nod.
“Oh! Me too!” Nelliel quickly added excitedly.
“No fair! I wanna spend time with Caius too!” Riruka complained with a jealous pout.
“You haven’t played with me in forever,” Lilynette added while crossing her arms.
“Us too, Caius-sama!” Tier’s subordinates shouted in unison.
“Wahaha! Alright, alright,” I laughed while raising my hands in surrender. “I promise I’ll spend time with each of you once I get back.”
That finally managed to placate everyone.
After saying my goodbyes, I gave Starrk a subtle look telling him to keep an eye on things before disappearing once more.
An instant later, I reappeared somewhere in Europe.
A grin immediately spread across my face.
‘You know what time it is, don’t you, my lovely Astra?’ I asked teasingly while casually walking through the crowded streets.
As usual when she was scheming something or when I teased her, Astra was unusually quiet.
But I could still clearly feel the embarrassment and excitement radiating from her.
“H-Hyeek!”
An absolutely adorable squeak echoed in my mind.
My grin widened even further.
‘That’s right,’ I teased shamelessly. ‘It’s finally time for our date.’
‘And more importantly… time for me to finally see the human form you’ve been hiding from me all these months.’
“…A-Alright,” Astra eventually replied in a voice overflowing with nervousness and excitement.
The next second—
“WOOOO! I GOT A DATE, BABY!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs in the middle of the street without an ounce of shame.
Several nearby pedestrians immediately turned to stare at me like I was insane.
I ignored them completely.