(Ryoto's pov)

Some time passed, and my life in a cave continued. Harribel started teaching me how to use Garganta, which was appreciated. I showed her my Hollow side, to her great surprise. I did that because she asked why I sometimes feel like a Hollow. After a few months, I trusted her enough, and the fact that she wouldn't tell anyone was a great boon. I didn't see any harm in doing that. With people in Soul Society, doing so was a greater risk, so I limited sharing this secret. Even if Aizen was able to spy on me here, he probably already knows about my ability. Not to mention that I needed some training with my mask, and hiding my mask would be counterproductive at the moment.

We also had two additions to our cave. A lion-like Adjucha-class Menos and snake-like Hollow also an Adjucha-class. It was very unusual for Hollows to gather in a group like that, and our group was the most bizarre of them all since we had a Shinigami among our ranks, but both Francesca Mila Rose and Cyan Sung-Sun, the previously mentioned Hollows didn't see me as Shinigami, not now at least. They even look up to me in a similar way they do to Tier.

At least they don't want to get to my pants... I hope. I try to be as faithful as possible, and getting another lover while being 'kidnapped' wouldn't look so great. I'm not even sure if any of my lovers expect me to be faithful. I'm known as Casanova even though I didn't flirt with anyone since that fateful night when we decided to become family.

I'm not a horny teenager anymore, and I can control my dick a bit better now, but after a few months of celibacy, I also have my needs, and since I don't live alone, I don't have a lot of 'me' time not that I had that before, but I had three lovers, so I rest my case.

Today, I decided to go on another discovery journey. I'll probably leave the cave for some time, looking around, and hopefully find something. At this point, I could just stop with my escapades since I already had a way back home, but the more information, the better. It's still a possibility that Aizen made some adjustments to his plan, and I could uncover them while I'm here.

"I'm going out now. I won't return for some time, a week, maybe two, so please don't destroy the cave. It won't be easy to find another as comfortable as this one. Rose, don't destroy too much, or I won't cook anything for you. Sun, don't antagonize Rose too much just so you can get bigger portions. Listen to Harribel when I'm away, not that I need to tell you that. Bye!"

With that said, I left.

(3rd's pov)

"Ryoto-sama sure acts like a father sometimes." The lion-like Hollow commented.

"From what we heard, he is a father of multiple children, so it is expected. I'm more surprised at his ability to make Hollow meat taste this delightful." The snake-like Hollow said as she almost salivated.

"That's true, but he doesn't need to act like that with us... He once told me, 'Act like a child and get treated like one', but I didn't even do anything wrong!"

"Wasn't that when you tried to steal my portion of the food, but you failed miserably and got caught immediately?" Sung-Sun raised her eyebrow clearly, still holding a grudge.

"Details, the only one Ryoto-sama treats as equal is Harribel-sama."

"Which isn't surprising. Both of them are extraordinary. That's why I'm even more surprised that they still didn't get together. Ryoto-sama is clearly attracted to Harribel-sama, understandably, I may add, but he hasn't done anything. It's frustrating." Sung-Sun expressed her thoughts to her fellow cavemate.

"Isn't it because he has wives back in Soul Society?" Francesca tried to reason, but Sung-Sun got an entirely different massage from her.

"You are right! Ryoto-sama's wives must be wonderful and powerful, but even they aren't a match for Harribel-sama, and we just need to make him realize that. We can't expect Ryoto-sama to abandon his family, but it's unimaginable for Harribel-sama to be anything other than a partner. It must be a difficult decision for Ryoto-sama, but we'll make him realize that the best choice is in front of him the whole time!"

Hearing her fellow Hollow under Harribel, Mila Rose sighed as she didn't want to argue anymore. So, she lay down and closed her eyes as Sung-Sun started planning how to get Ryoto-sama and Harribel-sama together.

---

It was time for Akio to do something he should have done a long time ago, but because of his certainty and ignorance, he never did. It is said that ignorance is bliss, but it can also have humongous consequences.

Akio was aware of this fact. He wasn't stupid, but knowing something and applying it in real life isn't always the same. After all, he is his father's son.

*Knock* *Knock*

Akio knocked on the door to his former home. Saying that he was nervous was an understatement. For many decades, he did everything thinking that he was helping his family. It would be fine if they would hate him. It would be fine if they resentment him. He wouldn't be mad if, for some reason, he would have died just to reach his goal.

All he wanted to do was to protect his loved ones.

In these years, he wasn't acting like a good person would. He didn't even consider himself one. Being under stress for so long made him a bit snappy. He was solely focused on his goal. Every moment that he wasn't working on his problem was a moment longer his father, who was believed to be a monster, was roaming free.

Akio was aware that Sereitei wasn't a perfect place. There was corruption inside Central 46. Some of the captains were criminals, and some didn't change their ways even after becoming one, but he didn't care about them. As long as his family was alright, that was fine with him, but the problem was that they weren't.

That's why he worked so hard, and only thanks to Captain Aizen he discovered the truth about his father... or so he believed.

Akio made the critical mistake of not double, triple, and quadruple-checking every fact from different sources. He can't be entirely blamed for that. He was young back then and blinded by his care for his mother, he believed what he saw.

Looking at it now, he started to see a few holes in his belief story, but as Dad and Yoruichi-kaasan had taught him, he needed to question everything until he discovered the truth.

The door to the house was opened by the person he wanted to speak with the most at the moment, Rin-kaasan.

His mother was surprised to see him, and he couldn't blame her since he wasn't visiting a lot, and even if he did, he mostly spent time with his birth mother since he was most worried about her. Not entirely because he cared about her the most but because she was the weakest of the group.

After an initial surprise, Rin's face showed a gentle and welcoming smile.

"Welcome back, Akio. Sorry, but Isane was needed in the 4th Division, so she isn't here."

Hearing that, she didn't even consider that he came for her hurt more than he expected. The consequences of his behavior were showing.

"Actually, I was hoping to talk to you, Rin-kaasan. If you have time, that is."

Once again, a surprise showed on her face, but just like before, it turned into a smile.

"I don't have any plans, and I just planned to go over some documents, but for my son, I would make some time. Wait in the kitchen, and I'll make us something to drink while we talk."

Akio made his way to the kitchen and patiently waited for his mom to come back with drinks. She made tea for herself while Akio received coffee. For some reason, he just enjoyed the bitterness of this drink.

"So, how can I help you?" Rin asked after a moment of silence.

"Well... I was hoping that you could tell me about Dad... From what I know, you know him the longest, so I was hoping to hear how he was when he was younger."

Rin showed a thoughtful expression.

"Young Ryoto... In short, he was an idiot."

Akio didn't know what to say to that. Out of everything he expected and didn't expect her to say, that which was not on the list.

"An... idiot?"

"Yes, a big idiot. He was constantly getting in trouble and was messing with a lot of people for his entertainment, and sometimes it could bite him back in the butt. To be honest with you, he didn't change that much, but he was forced to mature and get more vigilant." A regretful look showed on her face. "Some of that was because I was weak. He also had a bad habit of trying to shoulder as much as possible by himself. He got better as of late, but before, I was scared that he would get himself killed because of me.

I remember that when we still lived in Rukongai and planned to take a test to apply to Shinigami Academy, we didn't have any money. We could barely save any money to travel to the 1st district. With Ryoto, we probably could sneak in there, but back then, before you could take the test, you needed to show proof that you got there legally.

Nowadays, that wouldn't be a problem. It's almost free to get there during the tests, so most people with potential could at least try, no matter what district they come from.

Going back to Ryoto. To earn the money we needed, he took a dangerous job. Back then, he didn't say what he was going to do, but thanks to Yoruichi, I finally got to know.

What he did wasn't commendable, but difficult times require sacrifices. I know that he did that mainly for me. Without me, he wouldn't need to worry that much, so I promised myself to bear his sins together with him. No matter what he did, I would always stand next to him. If the weight of his sins, responsibilities, or something completely different was too much, he could always lean on my shoulder because I never wanted to see him in the same state when he returned from that one job."

Akio was in deep thought, trying to digest the given information. He wasn't Masaru, but he liked to believe that he was good at reading people, at least most of the time. That's why he needed to ask one more question.

"Rin-kaasan, can you just tell me, do you love Dad?"

And with that question, Rin showed the most beautiful smile that he ever saw.

"With all my heart and some more."

For Akio, the answer was clear. That smile couldn't lie. No one was that good of an actor or a liar, but the investigation wasn't over. He needed to talk with a few more people before he made a decision.

Akio thanked Rin and went to his lab before he went to another person.

—

END

Discord server: https://discord.gg/HB2DweuG4J

Patreön.com/Kurit (Up to 20 chapters ahead and exclusive illustrations.)