"Destained Souls" • Rimuru x Nozomi [Tensura x Bleach]

Ch 4: Revelations and Deceptions

----This Chapter is written by Void-King---

Inaba Kageroza returned to his secret research facility located in Soul Society. All of the Regai that he had created were standing there, waiting for him.

"Yo, you look like someone who got beaten up so badly. Who is it? I want to fight him if he's this strong," the Regai Zaraki Kenpachi asked Inaba as he walked past him.

"You're not going to tell us what happened?" the Regai Toshiro asked.

"We have to delay our plans. There's been a hindrance that I didn't expect."

"A hindrance, you said?" the Regai Byakuya said as this hindrance that Kageroza mentioned caught his attention.

"Yes, a hindrance, but fear not. I have a perfect tool to deal with him," Kageroza said, looking at the red pill in his hand that contained the remnants of Rimuru's magical powers, which he mistook as spiritual powers.

"I'll be sure to obtain the greatest pawn, and I will control the Human World and the Soul Society. For that to happen, every obstacle needs to be removed," Kageroza thought as he moved forward to create a new Mod Soul that would outmatch all those that came before it and set the power balance between the 13 Court Guardian Squad and his legion of army in his favor.

***

At Rimuru's house, a blue magic formation appeared out of nowhere, and Rimuru appeared, princess-carrying Nozomi.

"You should take a rest, Nozomi."

"I'm fine. I'll rest on the sofa," Nozomi said, and Rimuru obliged, placing her on the sofa. "Am I really just a thing to you, a tool that you own?" Nozomi asked Rimuru with a hint of worry she herself didn't understand.

But at the same time, she also felt happy. Her mind was all over the place because ever since she was born or created, this was her first time feeling this kind of mix of emotions.

"What I said was just a metaphor, but also a part of it was true," Rimuru replied to Nozomi while walking towards the kitchen.

Once Rimuru arrived there, he opened his fridge and took two cans of soda. He went back to where Nozomi was resting and placed one can on the table in front of the sofa where Nozomi was and took the other one for himself.

Nozomi didn't speak to him, and when he looked at her, he noticed that she had a conflicted expression on her face. He knew exactly why she was having that kind of expression.

"When I said it's a metaphor, I meant it. I don't want to share someone that belongs to me with another person. I don't know why, but ever since Kon brought you here, I had this feeling of wanting to protect you, and I also feel worried for your sake. I don't know why, but those feelings that I thought I had lost long ago had resurfaced when I met you," Rimuru said.

"I see," was the only word that escaped from Nozomi. She wanted to ask more questions but decided to hold it in for now.

Before they could continue to talk, someone knocked on Rimuru's front door. Knowing who it was, Rimuru opened the door and let Ichigo and his friends from Soul Society enter his house.

"You all, take a seat," Rimuru said, offering them seats on the vacant sofas.

Ichigo noticed Rimuru's katana on the side table and attempted to touch it, but before he could reach the hilt, Rimuru stopped him.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

"Why?"

"You simply lack the strength and will to wield it. Your entire body will crumble, your mind will collapse, and your existence will be erased from this reality," Rimuru warned Ichigo about the consequences of the action he wanted to take.

"Is it weird that I want to touch it even more now?" Ichigo replied.

"Dude, do you have some loose screws in your head or something?" Rimuru asked.

"Hey, what a rude thing to say," Ichigo replied and went to get a chair from the kitchen and sat down. Once everyone was seated or had found a comfortable place to rest, Byakuya started to speak.

"Alright, Kurosaki Rimuru, explain to us what you are," Byakuya said to Rimuru.

Rimuru let out a sigh and spoke, "Alright, you guys deserve to know the truth." Rimuru then explained that his power was called a Fullbring, similar to Chad and Orihime. He said that he didn't know how it awakened or how he obtained it, but one thing he knew was that he was exposed to a high level of spiritual powers during their war with Aizen, and the next thing he knew, he could wield it.

Of course, this was nothing but a fabricated story that he came up with, as how could he say that he was a god who was just here to rest and stabilize his mental health?

"I see, so that's why," Ichigo said, remembering how Inoue and Chad got their powers.

"If you have that power, why did you only reveal it now?" Toshiro asked.

"I don't actually care about this power. Just seeing ghosts is insane enough, and bragging about having powers is not something a logical person would want to do," Rimuru said, lying as if it were normal. Even the god of mischief, Loki, would be tricked if he listened to Rimuru's lies.

"Enough about me. I want to know about that Kageroza guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to kidnap Nozomi," Rimuru said.

"Inaba Kageroza is the 7th Seat of the 12th Division and Chief of Precipice World Studies within the Shinigami Research and Development Institute," Mayuri said. "Thanks to his plan, I was stuck rescuing the guys who got caught up inside the Dangai due to his trap. Honestly, I'm impressed."

"I see, but what does he want from Nozomi, and why is he obsessed with showing off his power and controlling the Human World and the Soul Society? And if I'm not mistaken, the thing called Dangai is a passageway to enter the Soul Society!" Rimuru asked.

"For someone who barely had any interaction with the Soul Society, you certainly know a lot."

"Well, I did my research, Captain Kuchiki," Rimuru replied.

"Well, as of now, we don't know why they want the girl, but that's the least of our worries for now. Our main objective is to retake Seireitei and bring Kageroza to justice," Toshiro said, and everyone agreed.

After their talk, Rukia asked Rimuru if he could look after Nozomi, which Rimuru accepted. He also didn't miss the chance to tease Rukia as Ichigo's girlfriend, which caused Rukia to turn as red as a tomato.

***

A new morning had passed, and once Rimuru woke up, he did his usual routine, preparing breakfast for himself and Nozomi.

Since today, the two would head out to Urahara's shop because Inoue informed him that they wanted to have a barbecue and invited him  and Nozomi.

Inoue's goal for this was to get Nozomi to open up to them, knowing that Nozomi only trusted Rimuru.

While on the way, Nozomi asked Rimuru a question.

"You lied to the captain about your powers, didn't you?" Nozomi asked. Hearing what she said, Rimuru was surprised, but he immediately composed himself and replied.

"Well, they don't need to know anything about me. But I'm surprised, how did you know that I lied?" Rimuru asked.

"It's a secret," Nozomi said, giving him a bright smile that she didn't show to anyone.

---To be continued---