Slime Soul (Tensura x Bleach Crossover) (Patreon)

Chapter 24: Blank Blade

I watched silently as what I said slowly registered in Ichigo’s mind. He blinked in shock, shook his head for a moment, then gave me a serious look of his own.

“What do you mean? Who’s after me?” Ichigo demanded.

“At the moment?” I asked rhetorically, causing his eyes to widen slightly at the implication. “Some empowered humans with abilities similar to Hollows, powers they obtained when their mothers were attacked by a Hollow while they were still in the womb.” I explained as simply as I could about the Fullbringers.

“Powers received when their mother was attacked by a Hollow?” Ichigo repeated in confusion.

“Some of the Hollow’s spiritual power gets absorbed by the womb, and those children eventually develop abilities. They call themselves Fullbringers. As a matter of fact, your friends Sado and Orihime are probably Fullbringers too, they just awakened their abilities through the Hōgyoku instead of naturally.” I continued calmly.

“…Hmm, I guess that makes sense. I always thought it was weird how those two developed powers, but if they always had them and the Hōgyoku just awakened them… yeah.” Ichigo muttered to himself with a nod.

“Speaking of the Hōgyoku though, how am I still alive right now when I’m sitting this close to you?” Ichigo suddenly asked. “I heard from some of the others that when Aizen fused with the Hōgyoku, any normal human that came near him would just get erased. So shouldn’t the same thing happen with you now that you have it?”

He didn’t stop there.

“And how can I even see you and the others right now? That bullshit explanation Nel gave me made no sense!”

“…”

Seeing me remain silent, a tick formed on Ichigo’s brow.

“Well!?”

“I just thought you had another question.” I raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Tsk, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you!?” Ichigo snapped.

“Yep.”

Seeing he was about to go off again, I held up a hand.

“Alright, alright. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

His face twitched, but somehow he held himself back from retorting angrily like he more than likely wanted.

“Regarding the Hōgyoku, I’m not some amateur like Aizen who just blasts his power everywhere like a dumbass. I can control my power perfectly, down to the point of appearing like a normal human or going all out in an instant.” I said with a casual shrug.

Though if I was being honest, that was only possible thanks to Imaginary Space and Astra helping me manage my ridiculous reserves.

At this point, I probably had more Reiryoku than probably everyone but the Soul King and that was not taking into account the amount of magicules I possessed which was massive too.

Ichigo just deadpanned at my answer, clearly not satisfied, but I ignored it and continued.

“As for why you can see me, that’s because I was never a purely spiritual being to begin with. As you already know, I’m a Slime. And slimes have physical bodies that can interact with the material world… which includes humans.” I added with a bored tone.

“…Alright, I guess that makes sense. And the others?” Ichigo reluctantly admitted.

“As Nel said, she along with Tier, Lilynette, and Starrk are no longer Hollows. By granting them my power, they evolved into something completely new and gained physical bodies in the process. Nel and Tier’s subordinates are the only ones still Hollows for now, so I just made bodies for them to inhabit, basically like Gigai.” I explained before taking a sip of my whiskey.

“…Haah, the first part sounds insane. Then again, you evolved too, so I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.” Ichigo muttered as he finished his strawberry lemonade and leaned back into his seat.

“Getting back on topic… how do you even know these Fullbringers are after me? Did you run into one of them or something?” Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, that’s easy.” I said, a grin slowly spreading across my face.

“Not only did I run into one of them…”

“I got them to ditch their group and join me.”

“What!? How did you get them to do that?” Ichigo asked, his tone and expression full of surprise.

“Huhuhu, I guess I don’t mind letting you in on this little secret.” I said mysteriously before adopting the most serious expression I had made so far and focusing my gaze entirely on Ichigo.

He subconsciously straightened up in his seat.

“Are you ready to hear it though? That’s the real question. What I’m about to share with you is a great secret I discovered on my own, one that will change the way you look at things.” I said ominously, causing Ichigo to gulp.

“I-Is it really that important?” Ichigo asked with wide eyes.

“Oh yes.” I nodded, not dropping the act.

Ichigo hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding.

“Alright… what is it?”

Leaning forward over the table as if I were about to reveal something monumental, I covered half my mouth and lowered my voice. Ichigo leaned in as well, completely hooked.

“Take this to heart, Ichigo… and remember it well.”

“If all else fails… always remember that—”

“Girls are weak to cute things~”

I leaned back with a grin, enjoying the blank look now plastered on Ichigo’s face.

It only took a second for him to snap exactly how I expected.

“What the hell kind of dumb secret is that, jackass!? I actually thought you were about to say something serious for once, and here you are messing with me again! Aargh! Do you really enjoy pissing me off this much!?” Ichigo yelled in frustration, looking like he wanted to punch me, but probably holding himself back out of sheer instinct.

He came really close though.

I just chuckled in amusement, shaking my head at his naivety. I wasn’t lying at all, I was completely serious.

It was a universal truth.

From personal experience… and from all my anime, manga, and TV knowledge…

Girls liked cute things.

Plain and simple.

‘Oh well… I’m sure he’ll learn eventually… maybe.’ I thought to myself in amusement.

“Caius-sama should stop basing real-life experience on fictional things.” Astra suddenly chimed in with a deadpan tone, lightly chastising me.

‘Hah? Are you calling me a liar, Astra?’ I shot back in mock offense. ‘I guess you wouldn’t mind then if I start letting other girls hold me in my slime form for a while as a reward. I seem to recall a certain Ultimate Skill of mine being kind of pouty when I let Rukia and Nel do that in the past.’ I teased.

At my words, Astra immediately went silent, though I still caught the faint sound of a cute huff, which proved my point.

‘Besides,’ I continued, pushing my luck, ‘you’re also a perfect example of that fact, Astra. You have a cute voice, cute mannerisms, a cute personality, and I have no doubt that when you finally stop procrastinating and show me your human form, it’ll be super cute, beautiful, sexy, pretty… or all of the above.’ I added with a smug grin.

‘I’m sure you could get anyone to do whatever you want just by smiling at them.’

“Hmph, Caius-sama is a bully. Just for that, I won’t be showing him my human form until much later than I had planned.” Astra retorted cutely.

I physically flinched as if struck.

I had gone too far.

‘Forgive me, my darling Astra~ Please don’t make me wait any longer to gaze upon your glorious form.’ I pleaded dramatically.

Unfortunately, Astra only huffed again and went silent, leaving me in my self-inflicted misery…

…which, ironically, still proved my point.

“Are you even listening to me, you dumbass slime!?”

Ichigo’s frustrated yell snapped me out of it. I blinked and looked at him, only now realizing he had been ranting at me this entire time.

“Nope.” I replied simply.

That was the final straw.

Ichigo shot to his feet and tried to kick me, but I easily stepped back, dodging it with an amused chuckle.

Right then, I heard movement from inside. Glancing through the door, I saw the others had returned. A moment later, Nelliel’s voice rang out.

“Caius! Ichigo! Food is here!”

“Come on, Strawberry.” I said casually, sidestepping another kick and lightly pushing his leg away, nearly making him trip. “Let me introduce you to the others, one of whom I managed to win over with my cute looks.”

“Tsk, let me hit you at least once, you asshole!” Ichigo yelled at my back as I ignored him and made my way inside.

I headed to the kitchen, where I could already see the others crowded around the counter. Twenty boxes of pizza were stacked high, and everyone was scrambling to grab a piece. Even Lilynette had abandoned Soul Calibur and was now unsuccessfully trying to push her way through, her smaller height working against her.

The only one not present was Starrk, but that lazy bastard was always like that. Lilynette would probably grab something for him and take it to his room like usual.

Standing slightly off to the side, watching the chaos unfold while looking a bit out of place, was a magenta-haired girl with matching eyes. She wore a black and white outfit along with a white hat shaped like rabbit ears.

This girl was none other than Riruka Dokugamine.

And like I had told Ichigo, even if the dumbass didn’t believe me, I had managed to win her over… mostly thanks to my cute looks.

Other than getting pizza, the others had also accompanied her back to her place so she could gather her essentials now that she was staying with us.

“Hey, Riruka.” I waved, catching her attention. Her eyes immediately lit up as she turned toward me, no longer needing to squint since I had fixed her poor eyesight. “How did everything go?”

“Caius~ There you are~” Riruka squealed happily as she rushed over and practically threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly around the waist and rubbing her head against my chest.

“Can you please switch back to your slime form? I want to hold you~” she asked, looking up at me with shining eyes.

Seeing such an innocent and joyful expression, I could only sigh internally while nudging Astra in the back of my mind as if to say, “I told you so.”

“Sure.” I nodded.

A moment later, I shifted back into my slime form.

Riruka squealed again as she lifted me up and began rubbing her cheek against my body happily.

“Hihihi, you’re the cutest slime ever, Mr. Slime~” Riruka cooed, completely lost in her own world as she used the nickname she had randomly decided on for me in this form.

As I was being thoroughly smothered by Riruka, Ichigo finally entered the room. He paused at the doorway for a moment, taking in the chaos, before spotting me and making his way over.

Noticing someone approaching, Riruka stopped for a moment and looked up curiously. Her eyes landed on Ichigo, and she immediately narrowed them in suspicion.

“Another human…?” she muttered under her breath before hugging me closer to her chest as if trying to keep me away.

“Who is this suspicious-looking guy, Caius?” she asked, glancing down at me.

Ignoring Ichigo’s brow twitching at being called suspicious, I decided to introduce them.

“Ah, Riruka. Allow me to introduce none other than the miraculous mutt himself, Ichigo Kurosaki.” I said grandly.

At hearing his name, I felt Riruka’s hold on me tighten slightly and saw her eyes widen in surprise at standing across from the very guy her former group had been targeting.

“Ichigo, meet the lovely and cute Riruka Dokugamine, an empowered human, otherwise known as a Fullbringer, with a very interesting ability.” I continued causing Riruka to quietly squeal above me and blush.

“I’m not a mutt, asshole.” Ichigo muttered in annoyance before turning his attention to Riruka. Feeling his stare, she lost her blush and stared at him silently, her expression mostly blank but with a hint of regret in her eyes.

“Anyway… nice to meet you.” Ichigo said a bit stiffly, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Riruka continued staring at him for a moment before letting out a small, cute huff and turning her head away.

“Hmph, whatever. I’m only interested in Mr. Slime… even if you are somewhat handsome.” she said before going right back to snuggling me.

I looked at Ichigo smugly, or as smug as I could manage in slime form, which I think still came across judging by his expression, and muttered:

“Told you so~”

Ichigo huffed and looked away in irritation.

“Uryu! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Pesche suddenly shouted as he walked up to Ichigo and slapped him on the back.

“For the last time! My name is Ichigo! Not Uryu!” Ichigo immediately snapped, only for Pesche to laugh and slap his back again.

Soon after, Nelliel came over carrying plates of pizza, and we all settled down to eat. I shifted back into my human form, much to Riruka’s disappointment, as she took a seat beside me.

Conversation flowed naturally while we ate, with everyone getting along fairly well, with the exception of Tier’s subordinates, who kept sending Ichigo wary and irritated glances. Thankfully, that was as far as it went since Tier was there to keep them in check.

Eventually, once we finished eating, the mood shifted back to something more serious as we returned to the topic of why the Fullbringers were after Ichigo.

Riruka filled in details here and there, though only in exchange for being allowed to hold me in my slime form again, which I permitted.

I did notice, however, that Nelliel was getting a little jealous, occasionally throwing Riruka glances whenever she saw her holding me. Even Tier looked mildly interested, though she hid it far better.

Which, once again, proved my point.

The power of cuteness was indeed mighty.

After a while, the explanations came to an end…

…and silence settled over the living room.

Ichigo, who had been staring down at his lap in deep thought, finally looked up. His gaze shifted between me and Riruka, who was mostly ignoring him, too busy humming happily to herself while holding me.

“This Xcution Riruka was a part of… would they target my family or friends to get to me?” Ichigo asked seriously.

I didn’t even need to think before answering.

“Yes.”

I bobbed slightly as I spoke, my tone turning serious.

“While some Fullbringers aren’t too bad, the others—and especially their leader and his right hand—wouldn’t hesitate to do something like that.”

Riruka clicked her tongue in annoyance and backed me up.

“Yeah, Tsukishima especially has a pretty twisted mind and a really nasty ability. He wouldn’t hesitate to target anyone close to you.” She said with a frown. “Though from what I knew before I left, the plan wasn’t supposed to start for another few months.”

Seeing the confirmation with his own eyes, Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment and gave a small nod.

Then he opened them again, this time with resolve.

“Caius, I want my powers back.” Ichigo declared firmly.

“Hmhmhm, I had a feeling you’d say that.” I replied with a grin in my voice.

Jumping out of Riruka’s arms, earning a pout from her, I transformed midair and landed in front of Ichigo in my human form.

“Before that though… there’s something I want to ask you.” I said as I extended my hand.

A moment later, a blank Asauchi appeared from my Imaginary Space, causing Ichigo to blink in confusion.

“What do you know about Asauchi?” I asked with a slight smirk.

“Asauchi? That’s a starter Shinigami blade, right?” Ichigo answered, still confused.

‘…I think it’s time for the old man to come clean with you, Ichigo.’ I thought silently.

‘I won’t always be around to finish your battles for you… so it’s time you stepped up and carried your own weight.’

“No, an Asauchi is something every Shinigami receives with no exception.” I said with a shake of my head before giving him a pointed look.

“With enough time, an Asauchi changes depending on the individual and goes on to become their zanpakutō. See where I’m going with this?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ichigo just looked at me in confusion before scowling. “Just spit it out already!”

Letting out a sigh at the idiot still not getting it, I went ahead and did just that.

“What I’m trying to say dumbass, is that the sword you used in the past was not a true zanpakutō.” I said with a deadpan.

Ichigo widened his eyes at that.

“Wha?”