"Come–ugh!" She billowed, just a second too late.
*WHOOSH!*
The purple line drew along her abdomen; the pain was immediate. Unohana's face contorted, and she fell on her knees, staining her haori in mood and blood even further. But tried to keep her composure and immediately triggered Kaido.
But there was no wound, at least not physical. Kaido was useless. The pain only intensified!
'It doesn't work...'
Ryōma walked to her, seeing her on her knees, and produced an unprecedented sense of conquest. The same bitch who had torn him over and over and over... now couldn't resist the pain of his sword.
"Why are you not screaming?" He said, almost feeling disappointed. Kenpachi Zaraki had shrieked so much in pain, but she looked casual, almost like nothing was going on. If not for her shivering knees, he wouldn't be able to tell.
"I won't give you the pleasure of hearing it", Unohana smirked, reading up her nodachi.
"You have shown me a bit more of yourself, so let me show you a bit more of myself. Ryōma".
Eager, thinking she was finally going to unveil her bankai, Ryoma used a shunpo that felt like he had just teleported. He thought he caught her by surprise, but her sword had been waiting, and that cold expression was waiting.
An imperturbable ocean was waiting.
*SLAASH!*
His body was split in two with the cleanest side swipe, leaving a sea of blood that stained the ocean. In shock, he couldn't even begin to comprehend what happened. Was that Bankai? She had predicted what he would do, she knew how she'd counter... and her sword was so sharp that it bypassed his steel-like flesh like it was nothing.
'What... are you...?'.
A monster asked another monster.
"U-Ugh..." It didn't matter how much she tried to hide it. Unohana saw her shivering hand holding Minazuki at the pinnacle of pain. Wondering how much longer she'd be able to resist. Allowing him to activate his shikai was a mistake.
'Once you are struck by this power... You won't be able to hold an advantage during the rest of the fight... what a ridiculous power, you can't even evade it' She gauged.
"You got more motivated now that you saw me on my knees? Don't get used to it. I am merely experimenting–!"
*RUMBLE!!*
Another wave of titanic reiatsu fell on her, one more gigantic, more dense, more terrible. Unohana turned around slowly and witnessed a crawling corpse. Ryōma's torso crawled her way insistently, sword in hand, palpitating, stained in blood and mud.
On his face, half of it was concealed beneath a pitch black mask with a single horn where purple slit eyes were visible. He shook, he wondered about his own existence, but more than anything... he wanted to end hers.
He raised his sword and pointed it at her. From the end of the sword, she saw a small ball of purple-blackish condensed Reiatsu, so strong it made goosebumps run along her scalp, making even the pain inconsequential.
Instinctively, she blocked.
A high-level transparent kido barrier manifested in front of her. The ball continued to grow in size, and even the whole world shook
With a small thud, Ryoma's hand fell off, and the ball of energy disappeared, turning the world back to normal. The purple line along her chest dissipated as well, erasing the pain from Unohana and bringing her back to a world of comfort.
Ryoma's mask dissipated, and the pale of his skin receded.
She saw both of his pieces start to get dragged to one another slowly... like two joining worms. Completely unnatural. Unohana used Kaido to heal up all her wounds and walked up slowly to Ryoma's torso. She dragged it closer to his bottom, which had been burst at least a dozen metres away.
Her expression was dark, panting. She couldn't help but look at both of his body parts joining with keen interest and thrill.
"That confirms what you are, Ryōma..."
Then she bit her lips and whispered closer to his ears with eagerness beyond scope, curiosity.
"Cero Deva... what?~".
...
Unable to hear a response, the 4th Division Captain watched attentively as Ryoma's torso and bottom joined together like countless worms mixing together. A regenerative capacity that was difficult for even Vasto Lordes to have.
Once he was done, she carried him out of that filthy basement, hoping all the blood would dry out by the time they came back again. She didn't seem to notice Ryoma's blood had already scattered; only hers remained.
It was very late at night, with only the occasional noise of some whining patients here and there through the wards. There would be personnel doing their shift, but they'd usually not roam around the passages.
Unohana walked slowly across the dimly lit passages, carrying Ryoma and their Zampakutos. She placed their garments to the side, together with Hebimaru, Shitsutora and Minazuki.
Struggling a bit due to their height difference, she got Ryoma in the shower room and washed off all the dirt joyfully, careful to clean every nook and cranny throughly, including his groin. Seeing that she had her chance, she took advantage of it to feel his member to her heart's content, since she thought just 'watching' was not enough to have an accurate measure.
'It is rather big~'
Once she fiddled and felt it enough, she finished washing up Ryoma, then threw him into the bath like an anchor, uncaring about his life. After what she had seen, she doubted something as stupid as 'drowning' could kill him. Most souls breathed out of custom, not necessity.
She then relaxed and took a shower herself before getting into the bath and exhaling a breath of pleasure. It was exactly what she wanted... to relax like this after a long battle.
It took several seconds and pleasurable sighs for her to remember that Ryoma was still at the bottom of the bath.
"Oops~".
She caught sight of him and pulled him into her embrace. The boy was out... she only hoped he'd wake up in a few hours for their new daily routine.
'You worked so hard today... I will give you your reward, sadly... you're not conscious to enjoy it~'.
She caressed his body lightly, sending waves of Kaido along his pores little by little, rubbing her head against her 'toy' that managed to make her feel the pleasure of a life and death battle once again.
Unohana could recall vividly that moment when his knee struck against her face. The pain of it was terrible, but she finally felt that her life was at risk at that moment. That she needed to defend herself or she'd perish. That feeling of ecstasy was what she was looking for... and he delivered.
'I don't care what you are... I won't let them put their hands on you, Ryōma'.
She had no doubt she was a hollow... a very powerful one. But not a hollow that entered any category of hollow that she'd previously seen. Not a Gillian, adjuchas or even a vasto lorde.
'Could he be a vasto lorde with an incredible capacity to disguise himself?' She wondered, but all theories would quickly crumble. Hollows shouldn't be able to wield Zampakutōs, much less activate two Shikais.
During their fight, she also knew that Ryoma hadn't lost his mind at any point... that was just his true self. She knew because he had refused to use Shitsutora.
While mumbling to herself and coming up with theories, Unohana felt something on her chest. She looked to the side to find Ryoma's hand grasping her boob posessively. She shifted her gaze to see if he was awake... but he wasn't.
'Pervert~'
She didn't move his hand away, nor did she leave his grasp. Rather, she took the chance to grasp Shitsutora, the legendary sword, and inspect it. Unohana put it on her lap and exhaled a deep breath, calming all her urges and thoughts.
Soon she found herself in a white world filled with humongous black stains of all sizes. Within those black stains she could see the void itself. It was like the ultimate Ying and Yang.
Sitting in the centre of all this was a lady with long white hair with black strands. The woman caught sight of Unohana, and her countenance paled.
"Tora-chan~" Unohana said, waving her hand amicably.
"Y-Yachiru…" Shitsutora mumbled with fear. Ryoma hadn't used her against Unohana... and she hadn't complained. That's because she didn't want to meet that lunatic again.
"It's been a long time... how much...? Uhm... thousands of years?~".
"Yes, and we could make it a few more thousands of years, if you agree" The tiger didn't want anything to do with her.
Rather than take offence, Unohana giggled and approached the woman, who seamlessly continued to back off.
"Tell me about Ryōma".
"Why should I? Ask the boy yourself... he fancies you, I am sure he is willing to answer anything–".
"Don't you want to protect him?" Unohana asked, "If word comes out of this... I won't be able to protect him by myself, Tora-chan".
"He doesn't need protection, Yachiru. His place is not the Seireitei, and you should have realised that. If you keep going down the path you're going… You will awaken him," The tiger said seriously, not wanting to reveal too much.
"He is currently in a dormant state. A soul that hasn't acknowledged itself... even the connection with his Zampakutō is somewhat shallow... he is closer to achieving Bankai with me than he is with her... and that's good, believe me" She mumbled, then her gaze turned sharply towards Unohana.
"But if you continue these little 'sessions' you will awaken him little by little... You may end up sending him to Hueco Mundo, but at what cost?"
"He is not a hollow… he can't be a hollow", Unohana remarked, "Hollows can't use Zampakutōs, let alone, how can he use two...? multiple?"
"I don't know what he is anymore… all I know is that I long to be with him. He wields me like he's known me since I was created. He treats me like I am his beloved treasure. He uses me like he can't wait to march into war together. No Zampakutō can ever resist him... he's also able to easily come to this space and talk to me without much meditation, he is the ultimate wielder".
"..."
"You can try... give him your Minazuki for a while and see what happens. Just don't come crying to me when your Zampakuto doesn't want you anymore..." Shitsutora closed her eyes, feeling Ryoma's palpitations within her very being, soothing her... awaiting the next battle.
Unohana walked up to her and patted her hair; the tiger didn't complain.
"Maybe I will try. I don't know... I am quite fond of my Minazuki~ also, regarding his awakening..."
"Hmn...?"
"I can delay it–"
"But you are doing the opposite right now. If you want to delay it, you have to send him to another division… to Kurayami–".
"I can't let him go" Unohana cut her off, absolutely. No second-guessing. She found a diamond while looking for Gold, and she wasn't going to let go, "Nor am I going to stop sparring with him".
"Hmph, do you call those 'spars'? were it not for the regenerative capabilities you both have, either of you would be dead already... probably Ryōma" The tiger growled, "Truthfully, I don't care... if he awakens and shatters the Seireitei with his power. At that time, he will be using me. Do whatever you want and brace for the consequences of your selfishness. Because once he awakens… you're the first one he's going to hunt".
Just the thought alone sent shivers down Unohana's spine; she couldn't help but moan, imagining it. The moment she, the First Kenpachi, would die at the hands of the strongest creature.
"I am someone who shouldn't be alive from the start. That will be a glorious death~".
"This is why I don't like hanging out with you, Yachiru. Do you think he will like that? Spending so long with someone, making memories..." Shitsutora's voice came from the heart, as if she had already gone through this with her.
"That's irrelevant", and looking at her dead in the eyes, Unohana Retsu's answer didn't change.
The tiger's eye twitched for a moment; one could see a small tear forming... but it disappeared as if it had been an illusion. Feeling a pain that transcended aeons, she billowed coldly yet lightly.
"Get away from my sight, bitch... I don't want to see you again".
Unohana looked at Shitsutora one last time, then left that space. The sword seemingly jumped off her lap in disgust and fell to the side, together with the other swords.
'Old dog doesn't learn new tricks, Shitsutora'.
She held Ryōma and caressed him longingly, "I'm someone who shouldn't be alive anyway… allow me this amusement at least before I accomplish my duty".
Shitsutora watched and felt everything from within Ryōma's mindscape.
'You may have fooled people. But you can't fool me. You haven't changed, Yachiru. You're still just… a battle maniac who doesn't care about anything or anyone, just your selfish thrill for battle'.
After they finished their bath, Unohana felt quite sleepy too. She carried Ryoma in a hurry, going across the shallow passages with their garments stained and dripping. She felt like a little girl doing something naughty. Once they reached her chamber, she sighed in relief and threw Ryōma, now clean, on the futon naked.
She jumped in too and embraced him, feeling the chilling cold of the night against her skin. The woman released a slight giggle at her own shivers and covered both of them with the quilt. Unconsciously, she looked up to his slumbering self.
'Make my life a lot more interesting, Ryōma~'