Slime Soul (Tensura x Bleach Crossover) (Patreon)

Chapter 11: Teasing Tensions

Las Noches

I watched the woman silently as I slowly stood up, pulling Nelliel up with me. She looked tense, ready to act if anything happened, but relaxed slightly when I let her go and adopted a calm posture.

I briefly glanced past Unohana and recognized the two somewhat familiar faces, Hanataro Yamada and Isane Kotetsu, her lieutenant. The tallest woman in Bleach, if I wasn't mistaken. Not that her height detracted from her overall beauty, of course, even if she stood taller than most men at 187cm.

“I apologize for that. It wasn’t our intention to eavesdrop on your tender moment. We simply didn’t want to interrupt,” Unohana finally spoke, offering a slight bow of her head. Not out of submission, but rather to show genuine politeness.

Her face remained unreadable, her gaze completely fixed on me. She clearly recognized who the greater threat between Nelliel and I was, subtly positioning herself between me and her subordinates.

‘As if I’d believe that.’ I thought, resisting the urge to scoff. I’d felt her presence arrive during the middle of Nelliel’s battle.

“Are you here to fight us too, Captain-san?” I asked, choosing to ignore her empty apology as I tilted my head slightly, feigning innocence while narrowing my eyes just enough to send a message.

Beside me, I felt Nelliel’s spiritual pressure slowly rise, her instincts no doubt kicking in after what happened with the other Captain earlier. Kenpachi hadn’t cared at all when we told him we weren’t enemies.

“No,” Unohana shook her head. “We’re only here to provide aid and healing to the wounded. We don’t wish to be dragged into unnecessary combat if it can be avoided.”

I smirked, placing a calming hand on Nelliel’s shoulder. She understood the gesture and slowly reined in her spiritual pressure.

“So… you’ll fight if pressed. That’s what you’re saying.”

Unohana answered only with a pleasant smile, one that said more than words could.

“At least you’re reasonable,” I muttered, eyes flicking sideways to where, a moment later, Yachiru landed, Kenpachi’s bloody and still-unconscious body slung over her shoulder.

“Re-chan! Kenny needs help!” she exclaimed, wildly gesturing as she pointed at his body.

She then noticed me and grinned brightly, waving like we were old friends. “Thanks again for the great fight, Caius-chan~!”

Unohana kept her gaze on me a moment longer, perhaps assessing whether things would escalate. When I didn’t move, she finally shifted her attention to her lieutenant.

“Isane,” she said softly, “please heal Captain Zaraki.”

“A-At once, Captain!” Isane replied, a bit flustered, but quickly moving to kneel beside Kenpachi and begin healing him.

“A word of warning,” I said suddenly, making all of them look my way. Unohana’s blank smile didn’t waver, but I caught the subtle shift in her eyes.

“If he wakes up and immediately attacks me or my companion again, I won’t go easy on him this time.” I said it with a smile, but one that didn’t reach my eyes.

“So do me a favor,” I added. “Keep your dog on a tighter leash… unless you want to pick up what’s left of him.”

With that, I turned and led a stunned and blinking Nelliel away from them.

Using Mana Perception, which allowed me a full 360-degree view, I kept track of them as we walked. I saw it clearly: Unohana’s smile twitched ever so slightly, her expression tightening for a heartbeat before returning to its usual mask of calm.

‘The bitch hid her intent pretty well… but for a second there, I almost thought she might actually attack me.’

Not wanting to be anywhere nearby when Kenpachi woke up, I reached out and grabbed Nelliel’s shoulder. A moment later, I teleported us to the location of Pesche and Dondochakka, just in time to catch the closing moments of Ichigo and Grimmjow’s battle.

=====

Back with Unohana and the Others

Watching the white-haired anomaly and the green-haired Arrancar leave, Unohana Retsu finally allowed her body to relax. She turned to her subordinates, tension slowly easing from her frame.

‘What was he?’ Unohana wondered silently as her gaze fell to Hanataro, unsurprised to find him trembling from head to toe, tears clinging to the corners of his eyes as he sat on the sand, visibly terrified.

Off to the side, Isane had also momentarily stopped healing Zaraki Kenpachi, her hands trembling slightly as she looked toward the direction the two had disappeared in, sweat beading along her brow.

Unohana couldn’t blame them. When that man had issued his warning, because that’s what it was, a threat cloaked in civility, an overwhelming pressure had settled over them like a heavy shroud. Just for an instant, it had almost caused her to draw her sword.

A sensation she hadn’t felt in a very long time… not since before she had become the Captain of the Fourth Division.

But even more shocking than his presence was the nature of his energy. It wasn’t spiritual pressure. It was denser, heavier… more malicious. Something utterly foreign.

For a brief moment, Unohana had even considered the possibility that he was a Sinner, a Togabito, escaped from Hell. But she dismissed the thought. He had no visible chains binding him, nor was he concealing his face like a typical Sinner.

And that made him even more dangerous in Unohana’s eyes.

He was an unknown.

“Breathe, Hanataro-san. They’re gone,” Unohana called gently to her still-frozen subordinate.

Her voice seemed to snap him out of it, and Hanataro gasped, finally remembering how to breathe. His hands braced him on the ground to keep him from collapsing.

“Haa… haaa… t-that was terrifying,” Hanataro stammered, his eyes still wide before slowly turning toward his captain. “W-was that one of the top Espada, Captain Unohana?”

“Hmm… while I can’t say for certain about the female Arrancar, the man was not a Hollow,” Unohana replied calmly, shaking her head.

“N-not a Hollow?” Hanataro asked, still shaken. “Then what was he?”

“…I honestly don’t know,” Unohana said softly. But then she set the thought aside and focused on the task at hand. “Never mind that for now. Please head over to Lieutenant Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki. Heal them if they’re injured.”

“A-at once, Captain!” Hanataro quickly stood and rushed off, grateful to have something to focus on.

“All that’s left now is Kurosaki-san,” Unohana murmured to herself, her gaze drifting back toward the direction the two strangers had vanished into, a thoughtful look shadowing her face.

=====

With Caius and Nelliel

After teleporting, Nelliel spent a few moments reassuring Pesche and Dondochakka that she was fine, before we turned our focus back to Ichigo’s battle, which, from the looks of it, was now over, with the strawberry obviously coming out on top.

Before heading over to heal the teen, not that it was really needed with Orihime already there, I turned to Nelliel beside me and caught her attention.

“Nelliel,” I said softly.

She blinked and turned toward me with a smile, tilting her head.

“What is it, Caius?” she asked warmly, clearly in good spirits. It was no surprise, so far, we’d made it through without a single casualty.

“Hold still for a second. There’s something I want to do now that I can do so safely.” I smiled, confusing her a bit before I spoke the next words.

“From now on, you will be Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.”

As I said it, a fair bit of my magicules flowed out of me and into her. Nelliel gasped, her eyes going wide.

“C-Caius… you…” she whispered, clearly shocked.

“You’ve been out of commission for a while. I just wanted to even the odds a bit,” I explained. “To be honest, I don’t know exactly what power you’ll gain… but I do know you’ll become much stronger after a day or so.”

‘This way… I won’t have to worry about you as much,’ I thought privately.

Her gaze softened, and a gentle smile grew on her face. “…You didn’t have to do that, you know?” she murmured, stepping closer and bumping my shoulder with hers affectionately.

“It was necessary. Our enemies are only going to get stronger from here,” I said with a small frown, already thinking ahead to the looming Quincy war.

“…Caius. Is there something you’re not telling me?” Nelliel asked, suddenly serious as her eyes locked onto mine.

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything — soon,” I said, shaking my head. My smile returned as I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Just wait a little, okay? What I need to share… it’s very sensitive. And I have no doubt Aizen has the whole of Las Noches rigged with surveillance.”

As I pulled back, her eyes widened in realization before she gave me a silent nod.

I nodded in return and turned forward. “Now come on. Let’s go see how the Strawberry’s holding up.”

“Hihihi, you really enjoy teasing him, don’t you?” Nelliel giggled, covering her mouth as we walked toward Ichigo’s direction.

“The kid needs to loosen up a bit. He’s way too serious for a fifteen-year-old,” I said with a shrug, before my voice took a more serious turn.

“Besides, he and his two human friends shouldn’t even be here in the first place.” My frown deepened, and I felt a flicker of anger bubble up before forcing it back down. “What the hell were their parents and the Soul Society thinking, letting children get involved in a war, a supernatural war, no less?”

Now that I knew this world was real and not just some anime or manga, it really put things into perspective. The Soul Society was fucking useless. And don’t even get me started on how shit of a father Isshin was, why the fuck would you let your own son charge into battle of this magnitude?

“Kids like them should be worrying about school, homework, crushes, and schoolyard bullies,” I finished with a shake of my head.

“I agree.” Nelliel’s voice had lost its usual lightness, her expression matching mine. “Children have no place in war.”

“Anyway, let’s stop with the depressing stuff,” I said, nudging her with a smile. She blinked, then smiled back, her frown softening.

“We should be glad things are actually going in our favor so far,” I added as we approached an exhausted Ichigo and a thoroughly defeated Grimmjow lying not too far from him.

“You’re right~” Nelliel chirped, and before I could react, she suddenly jumped on my back, forcing me into an impromptu piggyback ride like she used to do in her child form.

Grabbing her thighs to support her, I tried, and failed, not to think about the two very noticeable things poking into my back.

‘Doesn’t Nelliel have the biggest breasts in the Bleach world?’ I thought, recalling that little piece of trivia my past self probably read somewhere.

“Yo, Strawberry!” I called out, my voice loud and obnoxious enough to make Ichigo turn toward me with a tired, thoroughly annoyed look.

A bit behind him, standing slightly elevated, was a beautiful orange-haired girl in an Arrancar uniform. Brown eyes, graceful features.

‘Damn, she’s really pretty. You lucked out, Ichigo, you bastard,’ I thought with a smirk.

“Hii Ichigo~!” Nelliel beamed and waved from my back like nothing in the world could faze her. Ichigo sweatdropped while Orihime visibly relaxed at Nelliel’s bubbly energy.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that, asshole?!” Ichigo shouted back at me tiredly, clearly running on fumes.

“Ichigo-san! We’re so glad you’re alright, don’t cha know!” Dondochakka joined in, waving excitedly at the two.

“Uryu! You are strong after all!” Pesche shouted next, deliberately butchering his name, of course.

“It’s Ichigo, dammit! And how the hell do you even mix me up with Uryu!? We don’t look anything alike!” Ichigo shouted at Pesche, clearly beyond done. “And why the hell are all of you so damn happy? We’re still in enemy territory, you know!?”

“Well, if he’s that energetic, he’s definitely fine,” I said, grinning and ignoring his complaints completely.

Then my attention shifted to Orihime, who stiffened slightly under my gaze.

“So this is the girl you came to rescue, huh?” I asked, still smiling, and a moment later, I disappeared — reappearing beside them with Nelliel still on my back.

“Y-Yeah,” Ichigo replied, stumbling over his words as he stared at me warily.

“I must say, you’ve got good taste in girls, Ichigo. She’s a beauty.” I said, clapping him on the back with one hand and giving him a thumbs-up with the other.

Both teens turned a bright shade of red and started to sputter nonsense, while Nelliel suddenly froze up on my back.

“W-Wa-wa-wa!?” Orihime stammered, her eyes spiraling and her face beet red.

“T-The hell are you talking about!?” Ichigo shouted, steam practically shooting out of his ears.

Grinning wider, I opened my mouth to tease them even more, only to blink in surprise when I felt my cheek being pulled.

Turning to the culprit, I found Nelliel, her lips in a small pout and her eyes slightly narrowed.

‘Is she… jealous?’ I wondered, genuinely confused.

“Stop teasing them so much, Caius.” Nelliel muttered in a scolding tone, her hand still tugging at my cheek.

‘Yep. Totally jealous.’

“S-Sowy,” I mumbled, the words coming out garbled with her fingers still clinging to my face.

Apparently satisfied, she let go with a pleased nod, then gracefully hopped down from my back.

Rubbing my cheek, I turned back to Ichigo and Orihime, both of whom had calmed down slightly, even if the blush on their faces still lingered.

“Ahem. Right. So, mind introducing us, Strawberry?” I asked, lifting a brow.

Ichigo’s eyebrow twitched as he crossed his arms, the blush finally fading. “Yeah, whatever. Inoue, meet Caius and Nel, some friends we picked up along the way.”

“H-Hello.” Orihime greeted us shyly with a small bow. “Thank you for helping Kurosaki-kun and the others.”

“Nice to meet you. As the hothead said, I’m Caius Aurelius. A humble slime,” I said with a friendly smile, raising a hand in greeting. She blinked, clearly confused by the slime part.

“And I’m Nelliel, but you can just call me Nel. Nice to meet you, Orihime-san~” Nelliel added, giving a sweet wave and smile beside me.

With the introductions done, I turned back to Ichigo, noticing he was barely managing to stay upright.

“Anyway, want me to heal you?” I offered casually. “Not to brag, but I’m a pretty decent healer. Can’t help with your stamina though.”

Ichigo blinked. “You can heal too?” he asked, raising a brow before glancing at Orihime. “What do you think, Inoue? You up for it, or should I let Caius handle it?”

“I-I’m fine, Kurosaki-kun! Really!” Orihime exclaimed, her blush returning as she flailed her hands. “But if Caius-san can really heal you, I can focus on recovering your stamina and spiritual pressure along with helping everyone else!”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said before Ichigo could argue. “The sooner you’re patched up, the better. We’re still in enemy territory, after all.”

I stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Now hold still,” I said casually, activating my skill.

At the same time, I gave Raphael a mental nudge. ‘This is our chance, Raphael. Do your best to run a full analysis of Ichigo.’

“On it, Master.” came her immediate, calm reply.

As my healing worked and Ichigo’s injuries visibly mended, I noted the quiet gasps of amazement from the others.

‘Hopefully, we can find something useful in Ichigo’s physiology… something that helps us prepare for what’s to come.’