The Wandering of an Unstuck Stepbro: Multiverse Travel

Chapter 290: Angry father

(Yukima's pov)

We... failed. All we wanted to do was save Rukia, and then Akio-nii told us about his grand master plan. He said something about a traitor in Soul Society that is behind all that is happening around Rukia lately. I grilled him for details, name, anything, but he wouldn't budge no matter what I tried.

Fair enough. I would run after the traitor right away and beat him up if I could. I can get hot-headed like that sometimes.

But all that led us to the Shadow dimension, as Akio-nii called it.

We almost died because of Akio-nii's stupid idea!

No... That isn't the case. We all agreed with Akio-nii's plan, and he did everything he could to make it as safe as possible, and thanks to his planning, we left that dimension alive.

I just feel... frustrated. I thought we were strong. That I was strong but this image shattered just like the mask I had used in my fight.

Before Akio-nii lost consciousness, he told us to get everyone to the Study Chamber so we wouldn't alarm the traitor.

There, Dad instantly noticed us, and I could feel his anger even when he was worried about us.

What surprised me was that Dad knew about these Quincies in the shadows... Of course, he knew that. Why wouldn't he! He was always aware of these small and big secrets and tried solving them alone, and now, because of us, he is forced to face them earlier than he wanted to.

I wanted to stop him. Scream that he didn't stand a chance against them. Yell to stop him because I was scared that he wouldn't come back... but I couldn't for some reason. Words stuck in my throat because I knew that Dad would maybe hesitate for a moment but, in the end, would choose to go anyway if it meant our safety.

The only thing I could do was to hope and believe that he'll come back.

"Now Yukima. Can you tell us what happened? Ryoto was absolutely livid, and so are we, but he seemed to have an idea of what's going on while we don't." Mom asked me because I was in the best state besides Gin, who left with Dad and maybe Rangiku.

So, I decided to explain what we encountered and how everything went wrong.

(3rd's pov)

---(A short while ago with Yukima and Rangiku)---

The fight wasn't anything spectacular. Yukima evaded the attacks and then counterattacked, and it went on like that for some time. It was ideal for the Yuuki family.

"So we introduced ourselves and all, and so did you, but we don't know the name of the girl that's fighting Candice-chan." The black-haired girl said to Rangiku. She was probably just bored by watching the fight the whole time.

Rangiku was still wary, rightly so since she was still surrounded, but didn't mind a small chat. She may get some info out of them if she is smart enough.

"She is my adorable sister, and her name is Yukima Yuuki."

That was a wrong decision, as every single Quincy that wasn't in the fight turned to her instantly.

"Yuuki? As in, the daughter of Ryoto Yuuki?"

Rangiku didn't like the way they asked, so she stayed quiet, which in itself was the admission, but they had a way to confirm it.

"Hey, Yukima girl! Do you know someone named Ryoto Yuuki!?"

Yukima was still fighting, and while she was aware of her surroundings, she wasn't exactly listening. Not that she could with all the lightning thrown at her.

"Huh!? You mean Dad!?

Rangiku cursed under her breath and prepared to fight. Meanwhile, the Quincies narrowed their eyes.

"So she is the daughter of one of the 6 war threats. Not impressed, but better be safe than sorry."

Panic went through Rangiku as she heard these words from one of the Quincy.

"Yukima, use your mask! Now!!!" Rangiku quickly warned her sister, and without hesitation or even questioning, Yukima did as she was told and summoned her Hollow mask, surprising her opponent. Her speed and power shot up tremendously and wounded her foe greatly.

"Bitch!" Candice screamed.

Yukima's triumph didn't last as she was rushed at by the other Quincies.

"Growl, Haineko!" Rangiku released her Zanpakuto to support her sister or at least draw one opponent away from Yukima. With a mask, she was much stronger than Rangiku, and her power was much more explosive.

The real fight started now.

---(Akio's side)---

Akio was starting to work on fumes. Using his Zanpakuto was very draining, but he somehow avoided any serious injuries and could deliver some decent attacks at them. Not to mention that his calculating power was harder and harder to maintain, and he could lose focus at any moment. It was to the point that he couldn't even take a second to calculate how long he needed to keep that up; otherwise, he risked making a mistake, and that was the last thing Akio needed.

That was the moment that Akio felt a sudden spike of Reiatsu. He couldn't mistake this violent Reiatsu even if he wanted to. His little sister was using her Hollow mask, which could only mean one thing: trouble. That was also the moment Akio lost focus for a single instance, and it cost him greatly.

Cang Du capitalized on his opponent's distraction and stabbed him in the shoulder, drawing a lot of blood in the process. Akio quickly created some distance between him and his foe, but that was the turning point. Akio had one arm left to use. In emergencies, he would be able to use his injured side, but at this point, he wasn't even sure if he could survive until Gin returned them back, and worst of all, he now worries about his baby sister!

Why does he always attract trouble? First with Aizen, and now this! What God did he offend for this to happen...

---(Masaru's side)---

Masaru felt that. Yukima's and Rangiku's spike of Reiatsu. The oldest of Ryoto's children knew that his biological sister was forced to use her Hollow powers. For now, they weren't injured a lot, and Rangiku was helping her as well, so he decided against using his Bankai, and if everything went well, he wouldn't be forced to do it. There wasn't much time until the return, but then he felt it. Something happened to Akio. He got wounded badly, and Masaru was aware that his younger brother wasn't a fighter. It was impressive that he could fight for about 4 minutes with 3 opponents without many injuries, but now it has changed.

With a deep breath, Masaru gathered his resolve to act as bait and save his siblings.

"Bankai!"

And hell was unleashed.

(Akio's pov)

My body was covered in slashes and wounds. Some, more severe than others, but I feel like dying already. I'm going to bleed out soon if I'm not going to die from the Quincies first. I also can't see in one of my eyes because of the blood coming down on it, but even before that, I was damaged enough for me to be slightly blinded there. I was seeing black dots before I was forced to close my eye.

I also returned my Zanpakuto to its sealed state. I just couldn't swing my giant blade with one arm. I was fully prepared to sacrifice one of my arms to kill at least one of my opponents, but before it could happen, all of us, meaning me and the 2 Quincies, felt an immense power. We stopped fighting to look in the direction of the Reiatsu. It wasn't just Reiatsu that we felt but the dread in the air coming from another battlefield. Together with that, we saw an inferno of black fire.

My eye went immediately wide as I only knew one person who used this type of flames, Masaru-nii. But it wasn't his Shikai. It couldn't be. It was just too powerful, and the size of these flames was over Masaru-nii's limit, which could only mean one thing. He used his Bankai. The very same Bankai that Dad forbade him from using since he can't control it. Worst of all, after doing a quick calculation, I discovered that we have about a minute before we get back, and if he gets back with his Bankai unleashed, he will become a danger to everyone before he gets consumed by his power himself.

I can't... I can't allow my brother to die because he decided to help me with something. I won't allow myself to be the cause of my family's death!

With that, I used the remains of my strength together with my foes' distraction to run towards my brother to stop him from killing himself.

The Quincies followed me for a while, but when I got closer to the fire. It gave them a dangerous feeling, and I felt that too. I ignored it, though. Saving Masaru-nii was much more important than my fear. At least my wounds weren't bleeding any more. The fire cauterized my wounds. It wasn't a painless process, but I'll get what I can, and when I finally reached Masaru-nii, I was tired and burned. It was tempting to just close my eyes and fall asleep.

But I couldn't. It was my responsibility to get everyone home safe.

It's also a bit funny. I'm injured beyond belief. Every part of me believes that it shouldn't be possible for me to move and I should feel a tremendous amount of pain, but I neither stopped walking toward my brother, nor did I feel anything anymore.

Does that mean that I'm close to dying?

It doesn't matter in the end. I won't allow myself to fall before I'm sure that my siblings are safe, and the first step to it is stopping Masaru-nii's rampage.

Every step was a trial in itself, but I finally stood in front of Masaru-nii, who was lying on the ground, screaming and thrashing around.

"You really did something stupid this time, Masaru-nii. You probably felt that either Yukima or I were in danger and tried to act as a decoy. You didn't think that Quincies would leave you alone and focus on their respective targets. The thought that they didn't feel strong camaraderie didn't cross your ever-so-optimistic mind. Though, the most infuriating part of your plan is that... it worked, and you saved me."

I hoped that I had enough strength left to knock him unconscious, but my worries were unwarranted as I was able to do precisely that. Although I may have used more strength than necessary for good measure. Let's say that it was Masaru-nii's punishment for being an idiot.

With Masaru-nii unconscious, his Bankai reverted to its sealed state, and all the flames vanished almost instantly.

I looked around, and we were surrounded, but some of the Quincies had visible burns from Masaru-nii's out-of-control state. One of them was much more visibly angry than the rest.

...5...4...

"My face!!! Fuck!!! Fuck!!!"

It was a woman, Quincy, who stomped the ground. Half of her face was deformed because of the fire, and she was raging at her opponent. Seeing me, the newcomer, near her target automatically made me an additional target.

...3...

"You!!! You'll pay for this!!! I don't care if I'll blow half of this place as long as both of you die!!!"

...2...

She started charging her attack, and even without Masaru-nii's ability, I could tell that it was powerful enough to kill both me and my brother, but I didn't move or even attempt to defend myself or dodge. I just stared at her with my lone open eye.

...1...

She shot a ball of energy at us, which was big enough to enclose both of us, but I wasn't afraid of it. Not at all, because...

...0...

Masaru-nii and I vanished from that dimension. The 5 minutes had passed, and as expected of Gin, he was on time to the second. Before I lose consciousness, I need to explain some things to Yukima, Rangiku, and Gin. Knowing my little sister, she would grab and get us to the 4th Division's barracks, and that wasn't the best choice. Aizen has eyes everywhere. Not to mention, I don't know how we would be able to explain our injuries...

(Yukima's pov)

We got out of our fight with only minor injuries. I thought we were goners when they grouped on us, but thankfully, Gin pulled us back in time.

My good mood plummeted when I saw both Akio-nii and Masaru-nii. I even forgot to be angry at Akio-nii.

I was ready to grab them and bring them to the healing barracks, but I was stopped by a barely conscious Akio-nii. His whole body was covered in burns, and his face wasn't any better. I don't think they will be able to heal, and even after treatment, he will be covered in scars. That is, if he'll survive until I get him to help.

---(Present time)---

"...And that's everything I know. I only know about the details after we were separated from Akio-nii when he was barely conscious after we came back, and we were rushing here, so there's probably more to that, but he lost consciousness after he said the most important parts."

I am ashamed. Very ashamed. Maybe it's because I, together with Rangiku, didn't get wounded as much as my older brothers, so I feel like I got scot-free when I shouldn't.

I don't know if both Masaru-nii and Akio-nii drew away the strongest Quincies away from me and Rangiku, but it didn't make me feel any better even if they didn't.

I was also scared to maintain eye contact with my moms. They'll probably hate me for allowing this to happen. Even though this whole ordeal wasn't my idea, I agreed to it, and I was the one who was the least careful out of our group. If I used my full power from the beginning, I may have had a chance to defeat my opponents and help Masaru-nii and Akio-nii, but I wanted to play safe, and I believed that they'd be able to handle themselves. They are my invincible big brothers, after all, but today, for the first time in a long time, I've seen them so fragile. They almost died.

"Yukima!"

That yell brought me back to reality, and I looked hastily from one side to the other. When I was done with that, I looked up to see Rin-kaasan looking at me, not with disdain but with love.

This look broke the dam, and all the emotions that I tried to hold in flew out of me, and I started sobbing.

"I... I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

I was repeating this sentence as I cried and hid my face into Rin-kaasan's shoulder, and she just rubbed my back and, with her soothing voice, reassured me that everything was going to be alright, and for some reason, I was inclined to believe her...

(Ryoto's pov)

I was going towards Akio's lab, where there was a machine to get me to the Quincies dimension that I don't remember the name of. It has probably a German name like everything else to do with Quincies, and the last time I checked, I couldn't speak German.

Gin also gave me a quick summary of how this thing works and what happened to them. He only knew as much as Akio told him when he was on the verge of consciousness, so the information was spare.

The most important part of it was that Gin could make me return in five or more minutes, and that was perfect for me.

I told him to set the timer to 10 minutes. In these 10 minutes, I won't die even if they group up on me, and Yhwach should still be weakened, so he shouldn't want to fight me at the moment.

I nodded to myself.

I can do this. Just like in good old times when I hunted Quincy scums that tried to destroy the peace that Isamu created. This time, however, is more personal.

After preparing my mentality, Gin sent me there, and immediately, I felt Quincies nearby, so I walked towards them.

---

I walked slowly towards them as I unsheathed my weapon. My rage, quiet yet ready to swallow everything in its way. I also had my presence hidden to the best of my abilities, so they didn't notice me until I was pretty close to them.

"Who are you!!?" One of the Quincies demanded from me, but I ignored him and began monologuing.

"You know, I like to think of myself as a peaceful man. I also don't need much in life to be happy. I could live in the woods, hunting and living with my loved ones without any issues, but I also have my limits. They are harder to cross than when I was younger, but they still exist, and unfortunately for all of you here, you crossed it."

I was speaking calmly, emotionless even. I was wholly detached because I was readying myself.

"What are you talking about!!? We asked you a simple question! Who are you!?"

This time, it was a woman, Quincy, who yelled at me. Her face was severely burned. Seems like Masaru got her before they escaped.

"Stupid. Don't you recognize him?" The short blonde one said to her ally. "That's one of the 6 war threats, Ryoto Yuuki. He is solely on that list for one reason alone. There is zero information about his abilities beyond the basics. He is a master at manipulating information. As far as we are aware, he showed his Bankai only once and didn't show much back then except one attack."

I would normally be impressed by their information gathering, but not today. Besides, I was laying low for the last 200 years, not showing much in fights. The only time I trained all my other abilities was away from prying eyes just for a moment like this.

"Correct. I'm Ryoto Yuuki, Captain of Squad 2, partner in life of Isane Kotetsu, Yoruichi Shihoin, and Rin Yuuki, formerly known as Rin Kujo, father of Masaru Yuuki, Yukima Yuuki, Akio Yuuki, Gin Ichimaru, and Rangiku Matsumoto and much more than you are aware of but it's not important right now. What is important however, is that I heard that you took care of my children."

"...What of it?"

"Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu." I activated my Bankai, which put all 8 Quincies on guard, but I still didn't attack. "Have you ever thought what is difference between being alive and being dead?" Without waiting for them, I answered with my voice lowered to a dangerous degree, making it sound spine-chilling. "Harming my family."

Time for words ended, and I brought my free hand to my face with my finger bent as if I was imitating it had claws, gathered energy in it, and swiped it in front of my face. This action created my Hollow mask. I also heard someone exclaiming, "Another one!?" but I didn't pay them any attention because I wasn't done with my mask just yet.

The next part started in the center of my chest as a hollow (ha) hole was being created. Out of it, white bone-like liquid spread through my whole body, covering it and hardening almost immediately. At the end of my feet and hands, claws emerged in the place of toes and fingers. The most shocking thing was the mask cracking where my mouth would be, but instead of my regular face, when I unwillingly opened my mouth, a long tongue rolled out. The cracks also created teeth-like look.

My consciousness was starting to slip out. I could only be in that form for 15 minutes without any risk. I would move entirely on instinct, and I would be dangerous to my allies. Thankfully, I can count on Zangetsu and Gyaku to bring me back when it's time.

I hope I'll see all of them dead in these 10 minutes.

(3rd's pov)

Ryoto performed full Hollowfication. It wasn't something he could do every day for myriad reasons, and for the same reasons, he didn't have many opportunities to master it. The only time he could do that was during his time in Hueco Mundo, and that's when he achieved this form.

That transformation changed Ryoto in some ways. Bulkier appearance. A slight slouch. A functioning mouth with a long tongue sticking out from it. Fingers and toes ending with claws. Eyes sharper than before but now became pitch black instead of their usual white color when he used his mask.

Ryoto became a Hollow through and through, but he still didn't move and stood there without a hint of a movement.

"Wha-" One of the Quincies started questioning what just happened, but he was interrupted.

"GGRRRRRAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Ryoto roared animalistically and rushed with his Zanpakuto still in hand. His first victim was decided seemingly randomly, and it looked like ?s N?dt wasn't lucky today.

?s N?dt was one of the most powerful Sternritters. It also may be the reason why Ryoto attacked him first, since he could instinctively know that he must dispose of him first.

Ryoto used Sonido to get close to his first foe. Standing in front of the tall Quincy, Ryoto grabbed his arm and cut ?s N?dt's torso from shoulder down, but that wasn't the end of Ryoto's attack. The aftereffect of the cut lingered in the air, and from that, a powerful black Getsuga Tenshou mixed with Cero obliterated the first Quincy.

Confirming the death of his opponent with Haki, he slowly turned around, eyeing his next victim, making everyone present feel shivers down their spine.

The predator looked at its prey.

---

END

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