NOVEL WEB Chapter 240: Rukongai
Karakura Town…After the events that led to the Summoning of a Gillian ended….The town seemed to retrieve it's previous daunting calm…
Yet…For certain people it was only the calm before the storm. Kuchiki Rukia was one of such people.
In her heart…She already knew…That she didn't belong here…When the girls that she knew as her classmates talked about their youthful, everyday woes…She felt…
…Out of place…
'Friendship…Love…Those emotions are unnecessary…'
She though as she left a letter to Ichigo…Her steps were nimble yet resolute….
A weird looking man and a black cat stood as they looked at the dawning sun:
"It seems the annoying green gorilla is right after all."
"They came right on time."
Urahara sighed:
"I almost forgot that…"
"Since his Majesty came, I've been busy with discovery after the other…~"
Yoruichi sighed, as she thought:
'So this is what he meant by the Soul Society arc.'
Of course it wasn't that hard to predict…That such a thing would happen…After all the Soul Society isn't a forgiving place. They were the best placed to know such a thing. Urahara smiled lightly:
"It seems that the time has come for us to make our move."
Suddenly a double voice appeared:
"Hehe….You better move quickly…The Quincy kid is getting his ass handed to him."
A man adorned with Imperial Robes on appeared. He seemed to be in Soul Form…Yet weirdly…There was no Soul Chain on him.
Urahara smiled:
"Is it really important enough for your Majesty to come out of cultivation?"
Marek smirked:
"I do not lack power Urahara…But I certainly lack a way to pass time…"
He looked at Urahara with a teasing gaze:
"I do lack subordinates too. But let's go at it one step at a time."
Urahara laughed dumbly before disappearing. Marek had a long smile as he pulled the Black cat in his arms. He caressed it affectionately before speaking:
"You seem so tense…Is it really something worth being so tense about…"
"After all…As you all now…Even the Old Man at the head, of the Captains is not your match…"
Yoruichi purred before responding:
"That is only if I use the physical body you gave me."
"And I can only go in to the Soul Society in my Shinigami form."
"…Right now…I am only a being of Reatsu…"
"And until recently…."
"Reatsu like Shinigami was limited by the one-man soul…"
Marek laughed intrigued by her words:
"Those are only excuses…"
"You still respect the Soul Society too much to cause a stir there…So you are putting restrains on yourself…"
"How sweet~"
He laughed once again:
"It's the same for you and Urahara too…"
"You decided to leave the Soul Society…Yet you are to attached to it, to consider harming it."
He patted her little head, a bright smile on:
"Look at you…I never saw a Galactic Level being afraid of little ants fighting each other."
The Little cat, showed her fangs before scratching at his arms:
"Don't speak of it like that…"
"…The Soul Society is still the home of all Shinigami…And I am still a Shinigami."
The Emperor looking at the little cat scratching in frustration only sighed:
"The Soul Society huh…."
He patted her little head, as he though his own circumstances:
"…Maybe love really is blind…"
As he spoke those words the cat immediately tensed up, as an annoyed voice came out:
"From where did this come out?!!"
Marek laughed out:
"Well…I gave you enough power to protect yourself."
"So I am already at peace…."
"Since you didn't to show your power to neither Urahra or the Others…That is okay too…"
He took the little cat between his hands and lifted up:
"If you want to take back your place in the Soul Society or if you want to challenge the order or if you want ot just wathc from afar…"
"All these decisions are yours to make…And…"
"Whatever choices you make…I will support you…."
The Cat wanted to speak something but finally chose silence. Seeing this Marek laughed lightly:
"What? Did I embarrass you~?"
The cat seemed to think for a while before answering:
"What are your plans…? Coming to the Soul Society…"
The Emperor sighed:
"My plan is easy enough…"
"It is to observe and recruit…"
He had smirk on:
"Maybe experiment with Soul Cultivation too
And the Fateful scene of Kuchiki's capture was replayed…
The Appearance of the captains and vice-captains…The one sided beating Ichigo received…
On the sky, hidden by the melancholic night of Karakura…Three Figures looked over the whole scene. One more infamous than the others, had an interested smile on as he saw Ichigo fighting the Vice Captain…
Yoruichi watching over the whole battle had a little sadness in her eyes. Not only watching over Ichigo but also watching over Little Byakuya…
'He is completely closing his heart…'
Her gaze landed on Marek for a while:
"Did you really need to come out from your cultivation for this?"
Marek laughed lightly:
"Of course…This scene is after all…Quite the sight…."
He had a teasing smile on:
"The Three of them…Are in love with the same girl…yet they act on it, in completely different ways…"
"Well…The Retarded Elder Brother is in love with her elder sister…But they look so much like each other it's spilling out on her…"
Both Shinigami had a weird gaze as they looked at the grinning Emperor:
'This is what's interesting about this scene?!'
He laughed lightly, he indeed had quite the weird hobby…Only People from Modern Earth could understand the amusement, of prying in other people's intimate matters….Maybe if Orihime and the others were there….they could understand, this kind of enjoyment…
He had a long grin as he continued to ramble:
"This Byakuya….He is the one who brought her so that he could repay his sister…Sigh…Look at him now…He look so miserable."
"If he worked for me…he would never be treated like that…"
Both looked at his ramblings…Could it be this Emperor is actually her on a scouting mission?
Little did they know…The Emperor is always on scouting mode!!
His eyes then landed on Renji:
"The Red haired, cheeky brat is the childhood friend who is actually venting his frustration of being replaced…But he still doesn't know it…"
"When he wakes up…He will realize he sent his love to death with his own hands…How tragic…"
"The Blond haired, stupid looking kid…Also feels that this friend is getting further and further away for him. Into a world that eludes him."
"He feels both scared and frustrated…"
"Since when did this became a drama?"
"This is a little disappointing but amusing nevertheless…Umu!! Umu!!!"
The both continued to fight….And the Emperor continued to comment stupidly. He spoke cheerfully like the events happenings were only a show for him to enjoy.
He then spoke to the two:
"What about you two?"
"Huh?!"
"Aren't you going to help? Because I am not getting in this mess…"
Urahara sighed:
"Let's watch for now…I doubt Kuchiki-san would use his full power."
Marek laughed:
"Yes…He is a little soft marshmallow inside, indeed…"
"I like this kind of personality…Maybe I should try to recruit him after all…."
"…Maybe I should start by marrying some of my retainers into the Kuchiki-clan first…"
He spoke jokingly…After all, he promised he wouldn't interfere in the Soul Society 's political matters…
Of course, not that the power struggles of the Central 46 and the Four Families mean anything to him to begin with.
In fact, the Emperor didn't like either one of the 4 Nobles Families…
Actually…He personally wanted for the political situation of the Soul Society to stay this convoluted.
A powerless ruler, a rigid, arrogant and corrupt ruling order like Central 46. Divided Captains, of diverse opinions accumulating hidden resentment over the past decisions of this incapable ruling class.
Four Nobles Families, way to convoluted in their own bullshit rules to even spare a glance to the rest of the world.
And way..Too self-absorbed to even care about the rest of existence…
Look at that…for example…
Byakuya Kuchiki….As a noble lord…Apart from agonizing after the coming and going of the women of his life. Apart from training to be the eligible the Captain of the Eleventh division.
What did he offer to the Soul Society? How did the citizen from the Rukongai benefit from his existence?
It's actually the same for him and Yoruichi Shihoin…
Is being a Noble Family in this world only a symbol of pride and infamy? Is that all? If that's the case…
….This is too disappointing…His eyes even flashed with a hint of disappointment as he looked at Yoruichi.
This way…It was sealed…There probably never will be a Shihouin clan in the Soul Society version of the Atleasian Empire.
After all…No matter how generous, and kind Yoruichi is…She was a good captain…A good Mentor…But not a good enough noble.
Yoruichi didn't remark that…But Urahara had a somber look as he understood the meaning of the Emperor's dark abyss eyes.
'…This indeed…is a mess…'
Marek kept overlooking the situation with the same dark gaze…Those people were fighting each other over a vacant throne.
Completely ignoring every one and every soul around them.
He smiled bitterly…
They were even allowed to slaughter souls in the Rukongai, if there was discrepancy between the Human World and Shinigami World.
Just what does Souls even mean to those people?
'This is even worst than the Shinobi World…'
In the Shinobi World the cruelty of the word is atleast acknowledged and fought over…At least people there fought for a better world everyday.
Here…Everyone only fights for it's own interest. Everyone fights for his own vanity.
And all the other 'good' ones only fight for their close people.
In the Shinobi World…The Good and Bad People are actually not that different…They all fight for the same cause…Only the way to go about it is different.
Here it is different…The So-called good ones only fight for the status quo to stay the way it is…But was the status quo really beneficial for the world…?
For the Gotei, the Soul King or the Four Families maybe…He laughed…
…If he was born in this world…He will probably turn crazy and become like Aizen.
'And they are shocked when people try to take down that powerless little bastard, they call King…'
'This world is really not worth even conquest.'