CH 158: REAL SKY
BOOM!!
While the thunder fell and utterly decimated the three Menos, all Masaki could do was stare in awe.
It was so…
‘Beautiful.’
The blinding like of lightning, the roaring of thunder, and the helpless cry of the Hollows. All of this compounded with the dark sky and a beautiful young woman floating in the air with a mighty tiger at her side.
Masaki felt her heart skip a bit and she averted her gaze from Senna, her face, completely flushed because of a heat she did not know the origin of.
“Are you alright?”
Snapping out of the daze induced by the earlier breathtaking scene, Masaki shook her head hurriedly before nodding then, her eyes swam in her head as she was lost about to say in the end, all she could do was give an awkward laugh, and scratch the back of her head.
“I am alright?”
“Pfft! Why are you asking me?”
Masaki blushed even more before coughing to clear her throat and gather her wits. She felt like she was acting like a bumbling fool.
“I mean yeah. I was able to avoid that Cero. So I wasn’t hurt.”
Ignoring her words, Senna approached in Masaki's personal space and inspected her briefly before nodding.
“Good. You are quite fast.”
All this while, Masaki felt like her heart was about to burst out from her chest.
‘She didn’t understand why she felt like this and was quite confused.’
“Hum…Your face is quite red.”
“Hah. This-This is nothing! Haha. Perhaps I am a little winded up, you know? Running and everything.”
Senna tilted her head in confusion. Would something like this be enough to tire a Quincy?
‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.’
Thinking so, she took a few steps back and watched Masaki quietly. Meanwhile, Masaki also fell silent as her heartbeats slowed down to a normal rate.
The gentle and friendly atmosphere between the two chilled a little. In the end, the first one to break the silence was Masaki.
“So…Are you a shinigami?”
Senna gave a quiet smile.
“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that but indeed. You could say that I am.”
She could have explained that she technically wasn’t even a soul. But, she didn’t want to. She was not ashamed of being a Shinigami because her beloved father and mother were ones and it would be impossible for them to stay friends if she hated her kind.
Masaki nodded, she could feel many complications in Senna's short sentence but Masaki knew that this wasn’t important. The important thing was,
“Thank you for protecting the city.”
Masaki bowed deeply.
Did she hate the Shinigamis? Masaki did not know. She wasn’t born back then and didn’t live through the war so it was impossible for her to explain her exact feelings.
But there was one thing that was sure,
“If you weren’t there, many people would have died.”
Masaki had no doubt about her ability to dispatch those three Menos given enough time. But she admitted that the victory would have brought much collateral damage.
Thanks to Senna though, all those risks were nonexistant. She perfectly bond and destroyed them without even causing the slightest destruction to her surroundings.
“Also…You were super awesome!!”
“You…”
Senna was speechless. She had to admit that Masaki once again really surprised her. The girl seemed to be way different from those she was used to.
‘Is it what father describes as the Hero-type?’
Her father once mentioned that he was really bad in dealing with this type of person and she couldn’t understand why. There was this itchy feeling when you had to deal with such people, moaning at their naivety but at the same time respecting their selflessness.
She could see no hatred, nor disgust in Masaki’s gaze. All she could see was pure thankfulness and excitement.
‘How intriguing.’
“Well, well, well. You really did a good job.”
The conversation was cut short when a silver-haired man suddenly appeared not far from the two of them.
‘Who!?’
Masaki tried to move instinctively but she felt herself weak on the knee.
“Wha–?”
She could feel the Reishi she had gathered loosen and escape her control.
“Senna!”
Masaki didn’t know who the man was, but he was without a doubt someone dangerous. She wanted to shout at Senna to tell her to flee but,
“Calm down Masaki.”
She felt someone hug her from behind and the sudden warmth allowed her to calm her beating heart.
“Also, father, don’t bully my friend. You scared her to death.”
Gojo gave a helpless chuckle before looking approvingly at Masaki,
“You certainly made a good friend.”
He had clearly seen Masaki's reaction when she felt that she was in danger. How many people could react like her? How many people could put the lives of others ahead of themselves?
Masaki was no soldier after all. She was just a slightly normal high school girl.
“So, father, who is it?”
Senna asked while eyeing the young scrawny girl that was being held in Gojo’s arm in a princess carry.
“Her? Hum…Well, she is a new addition to our little family I guess.”
“Ohh!”
Senna’s eyes sparkled. She wouldn’t be the youngest of the group anymore.
“Hello, my name is Senna!”
Even though Senna introduced herself quite excitedly, she received no answer from the girl.
In fact, all the girl could look at were the grey clouds in the sky.
“So, this is the sky.”
She muttered under her breath and seemed a little disappointed but,
“You are wrong. This–”
With a smile, Gojo looked up and chased the clouds with a simple look.
The dark cloud above the sky slowly parted and a ray of sunshine peeked and landed perfectly on both Gojo and Aura in his arm.
Then, a vast hole opened in the middle of the dark clouds, making it seems like a halo of light was bathing the world.
“–is the real sky. Nearly as beautiful as me.”
Aura did not answer. All she could do was look up at the scene that was being imprinted in her heart.
All her life, she had never felt attached to anything nor had she ever loved anything. She had always been apathetic toward her situation for she felt no sadness nor pain.
But now, for the first time,
“Thank you.”
Tears streamed down her face as she quietly thanked Gojo for showing her something she would never forget. Something she would cherish all her life.
“You really are an angel.”
He was her angel. The one who saved her from her world of darkness and showed her the true beauty of the world.
This time, Gojo did not joke around.
The girl did not thank him even after he saved her life. This went to show just how important the current scene was for her.
In the end, looking up at the sky, Gojo chuckled lightly,
“You should not thank me too fast. Trust me. I will show you even more wondrous sights in the future.”
This was a promise that he would not renege on.
Since he had decided to take her in, he would go all way and help her as much as he could.
‘It seems like I have picked up another stray.’
Smiling inwardly, he gave one last look at Senna and teleported away. The girl was smart and she had proven that he didn’t have to worry about her.
He could leave her alone with her friend. Though, would they stay friends? Or become something more?
Gojo did not know and couldn’t help but wonder if Masaki would become the second Soi Fon.
Only time would tell.
(AN: Welp. Ichigo died before even his birth. RIP.
Anyway, the volume is nearly complete. This was really more of an interlude/slice of life volume to lower the tension. Some little more events then the next Volume will be Hueco Mundo.)