chapter 310

    Chapter 310:

    – Layla –

    I stepped out of the purple portal with a small smile, curious who might be home. The scent of incense hit me first. Natasha was in the middle of the living room, practicing Tai Chi with smooth, deliberate movements. Artemis sat on the couch, watching a soap opera. They both looked surprised to see me but quickly smiled.

    “Back already, Layla?” Natasha grabbed a towel from the arm of the couch and wiped the sweat from her face and neck.

    “Not really,” I said, shrugging. “I''m still in the middle of the quest to get my sword fixed, but I figured I’d stop by. You know, check in like you all wanted me to...”

    Artemis paused the TV and got up. She walked over and gave me a hug, which I returned.

    “Technically, the rule was that one of us has to go with you, to keep you from doing anything insane. But we’re glad you’re checking in at least,” Artemis explained.

    I nodded, then brought my fingers together in a cross sign. “Shadow Clone Jutsu.” A pair of clones appeared in front of me. The first clone immediately popped, letting the one I’d left in Asgard with my girls know I was back for a bit. The second opened a portal and disappeared, replacing that clone, which also popped itself to transfer the memories of anything I’d missed.

    My kids seemed fine. The memories showed them playing with a couple of new friends who looked around their age. Then again, Asgardian kids aged strangely, so who could tell? Either way, I smiled at the thought before turning back to Natasha and Artemis.

    “Is it just you two here?” I asked.

    Natasha shook her head. “Carol’s been staying here too, but she’s been flying all over the place helping people. She’s working with a few of your other clones to deal with the fallout of the world''s combining.” she said and I nodded.

    “How''s Yasaka?”

    “She''s doing good. Japan’s mostly under control,” Natasha continued. “Yasaka’s got it handled. They actually listen to their government over there. Of course we don''t have that in America. Especially with two governments still trying to claim they''re in charge...”

    I winced. “Sorry I left in the middle of all this.”

    “It is what it is. I think it''s probably good you don''t get involved at the moment. I heard the two US presidents were going to have a debate soon and then all the Americans would vote. The winner will be the president and the loser will become the VP. It''s not so bad.” Natasha sighed.

    “Any word from the godly community about Rizevim Lucifer?” I asked Artemis.

    The silver haired goddess/maid shook her head. “The Godheads have a council next week. Don’t expect an invite, though. They’re still terrified of you. I’ll fill you in afterwards,” she added.

    I walked over to the couch and sat down, smugly patting the cushions on either side of me. Natasha rolled her eyes, and Artemis sighed before sitting on my left and right. I leaned my head against Natasha’s shoulder.

    “This is nice,” I said. “Things over there in that Universe are weird, and I just needed a break for a few hours.”

    Artemis reached over and started massaging my shoulders. I groaned softly. Her hands were strong from millennia of wielding a bow, and it felt like she was working a miracle on the knots I metaphorically had.

    “So, what’s happened so far?” Natasha asked. “Who’s the big bad you’re tangling with this time?”

    I laughed. “You know me too well. The big bad is some guy named Yhwach. Believe it or not, he actually pulled one over on me. It all happened like this...”

    ...

    A few hours earlier...

    “Let’s go,” Yamamoto said. “Knowing a dramatic man like Yhwach, he’s probably hiding in that gaudy palace up ahead.”

    I followed after him as he flash-stepped toward the massive building in the distance. Unohana was right behind us, her movements calm and precise. As I moved to follow, something caught my eye. The corpse of the fake Quincy I’d just killed was doing something weird. Its power wasn’t fading the way I’d seen before. Instead, it seemed to leave the body quickly, shooting off in the same direction we were heading.

    That was odd. I slowed for a moment, watching it disappear. It didn’t take much effort to figure out what was happening. The energy wasn’t dissipating. It was going somewhere. Or to someone.

    “Is this guy the type of villain to suck the powers out of his minions to make himself stronger?” I muttered.

    [That sounds pretty generically evil, so I’m going with yes.]

    ‘Yeah, same,’ I said, chuckling as I picked up speed to catch Yamamoto and Unohana.

    Yamamoto wasn’t wasting any time. He looked ready to kill this Yhwach guy. I wasn’t surprised; he’d already said he was planning to use his Bankai. This was going to be serious.

    I wondered if Yhwach would even manage to put up a fight against me.

    [Probably not.]

    ‘Yeah, probably not,’ I agreed. Then again, I’d been wrong before. Some villains could surprise me.

    We touched down at the entrance to the palace, and I took a second to look around. The place was massive, gleaming white, and every bit as over-the-top as I’d expected. Waiting for us were hundreds of Quincy soldiers, weapons drawn and ready.

    The moment they spotted us, they unleashed a storm of blue arrows.

    “Almighty Push!” I shouted, and the entire barrage dissolved into nothing before it reached us.

    “Impossible!”

    “How are they so powerful!?”

    “We will have vengeance! Kill the shinigami!”

    The Quincies were yelling over each other, but none of them were moving forward. Yamamoto just stood there, arms crossed, looking as though he couldn’t be bothered. He didn’t even glance at them as they started readying another attack.

    Was he expecting me to handle this? I could. It wasn’t like they were a threat, but mowing down this many weaklings felt like a chore.

    Yamamoto spoke. “Captain Unohana, take care of these Quincies. We’ll move ahead.”

    She was going to fight? I glanced at Unohana. She hesitated, looking between Yamamoto and me. That was new. I didn’t think she ever fought. She was the healer, right? Sure, she was a captain, but...

    She sighed. “Fine. But you know I don’t like embracing my past like this. I’ll clear the way for you this one time.” She then glanced at me. “Don’t... judge me too much for this.”

    “Of course I won''t,” I said, watching her step forward.

    “Bankai: Minazuki.”

    “Oh shit, she’s using her Bankai!” one of the Quincies shouted. “Someone steal it!” Several of them pulled out silver disks, the same ones they’d used on Ichigo to steal Bankais.

    {You have awakened the New Title: Soul Queen!}

    {Soul Queen: Spiritual Beings will no longer tremble before your awesome powers, but they will instinctively feel that they are lesser. Something inside them will always acknowledge that you are a being above them.}

    “Well, I guess that’s something...” I muttered, looking around. I was back in the Soul Society. All the captains who had stormed the Quincy stronghold were there too.

    “Come on!” Zaraki yelled, his voice filled with frustration. “The fight was just getting good!” His body was covered in gashes and burns, but he was grinning like a lunatic.

    “How distasteful,” Byakuya said, staring at his sword like it had betrayed him.

    “Did you get your Bankai stolen?” I asked.

    He turned his head, avoiding my gaze.

    That was a yes.

    “Let me try something,” I said. I placed my hand on his blade, letting my wings glow crimson. Using around two million MP, I made it so his Bankai was never stolen. Somehow, this cost more energy than when I restored the entire Soul Society after my spar with Yamamoto.

    Byakuya examined his blade, then gave me a small nod. “Thank you.”

    “No problem.”

    Someone tugged on the back of my shirt. I turned to see Soi Fon standing behind me, looking uncomfortable.

    “Can you return my Bankai too?” she asked. “It was stolen as well...” She shuffled in place.

    A few captains chuckled.

    “Sure,” I said, repeating the process.

    Once I finished, I turned back to Yamamoto. “How the hell did he kick us all out like that? We were seconds from killing him.”

    Yamamoto sighed, his zanpakuto? shifting back into a staff. “Yhwach has always been a coward. Him being able to expel us from his city isn’t surprising. At least all of our captains are alive, and now we know what to expect.”

    “Or,” I said, “I could just make another portal.” I opened one, but when I looked through it, all I saw was a massive crater in a dark cavern. “He escaped with the entire city...” I muttered. “Wow. That’s actually impressive.”

    I turned towards Unohana next and noticed that she had a large scar right below her neck. The wound didn’t look fresh though. “Do you want me to heal that for you?” I asked her.

    She immediately paled before blurting out “NO!”

    I was a bit taken aback.

    “I... apologize for my outburst.” Unohana said to me before saying she needed a few hours to calm down after she had used her Bankai. Unohana quickly vanished away towards her squad’s barracks.

    BOOM!

    What the hell was that!? Captain Hitsugaya shouted as the ground violently shook. Something had fallen out of the sky and slammed into the area right outside of the Soul Society.

    “Ho...? Now this is going to be quite interesting.” Captain Kurotsuchi said. “I never expected to see the members of Squad Zero in person...”

    The head captain told all the captains that there would be a mandatory meeting with Squad Zero in a couple hours, but for now they should all get themselves healed and cleaned up but stay on their guards. “Yhwach and his army will be back soon, this is not over!” he told them all while slamming his staff on the ground.

    ...

    Back in my Penthouse...

    “And then he took me to meet the members of Squad Zero...who were all in charge of guarding the Soul King or whatever...” I explained with a small moan as Artemis had moved on to massaging my lower back.

    “What were they like?” Natasha asked curiously.

    “They were...a very eccentric bunch, but I could tell none of them trusted me.” Probably because of my New Title making them want to bow to someone who’s not their King... “They actually invited a few captains walking with the teenager Ichigo Kurosaki back to the royal palace for training, but they refused to allow me to go with them.” I explained.

    The creator of all Zanpaktou, O?etsu Nimaiya, was a strange guy as well. He was shocked that my own asauchi was apparently not made by him, but he was able to recognize what was wrong with it. In his words, it simply needed an injection of some vital soul power...something that could only be performed up in the Royal Palace. I gave him my Asauchi and he took it with him when they all rode that giant pole back into the sky...

    “That’s all a pretty interesting story, Layla,” Artemis said as she finally took her hands off my shoulders. I let out a small whine, missing the pressure of her fingers. “I’m glad you came back to check in with us.”

    Natasha scoffed. “Uh-huh. She only came back because Unohana wanted some alone time, and Layla probably couldn’t track down that beautiful catgirl either.”

    I choked on air for a second. Damn, Natasha’s intuition was still sharp. Even after being retired for over a year, she hadn’t lost her edge.

    “That’s not... entirely true,” I said, fidgeting slightly. “I did find Yoruichi. She’s just busy helping Urahara set up some defenses for when the Quincy attack again.”

    Natasha rolled her eyes. “Sure. Sounds to me like both of these women are more invested in their own world. I doubt either of them will drop everything to follow you back here. Not that we need any more sisters joining us, no matter how much I’m sure you and Hela would love that.”

    Artemis nodded in agreement, her arms crossed.

    I got the vibe they weren’t wrong. If something happened between me and the Shinigami women, it would probably be more of a fling. That didn’t mean my harem had any rules against it—they knew I carried the sin of lust, something we all suspected Hela had as well. But the women in my harem weren’t exactly thrilled about me bringing over new additions who might shake things up, especially not now.

    I completely understood, which was why I’d already decided to start checking in with all the girls in my harem more often. Keeping everyone happy was part of my job, after all.

    And speaking of keeping them happy, Natasha and Artemis were right here, alone in the penthouse with me. They both seemed a little... jealous.

    I gave them both a sultry smile. “You know,” I said, stepping closer to Natasha first, then Artemis, “if you’re feeling neglected, I can make it up to you.”

    Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Make it up to us how, exactly?”

    Artemis looked at me, curiosity flickering in her silver eyes.

    “Oh, I have some ideas,” I said, letting my voice drop slightly as I reached out to brush a strand of Natasha’s hair behind her ear. I turned to Artemis, letting my hand linger on hers. “But only if you’re both interested.”

    Natasha gave a small laugh, shaking her head. “You’re incorrigible,” Natasha said.

    “Is that a yes?” I asked, grinning.

    XXX