(Ryoto's pov)

Traveling is usually fun. You go to new places... meet the locals... eat new food. I should travel more when I return because the way I'm traveling at the moment isn't ideal. Hollows like to attack me the moment they see me. I am a snack, of that I'm aware. Yoruichi was very vocal about that on many occasions, but what's happening right now is just too much.

Not to mention that there aren't a lot of breathtaking sights in Hueco Mundo. Just a lot of sand, dead trees, a moon in the sky, and rarely some ruins.

Speaking of locals, I just met someone... a pair? I'm not entirely sure how to describe it, but it must be one or the other.

The pressure he is exuding is enormous, and it's not even his full power. It's just his passive power that is able to kill weaker Hollows if they get too close. There was evidence of this happening quite often since the only thing surrounding the mysterious man and child were the corpses of said Hollows.

While I didn't get any problem getting closer, I could feel that fighting him would be challenging, and I'm not sure if I would come out uninjured. 

Thankfully, I didn't come here to fight.

As I stopped in front of the pair in tattered rags, they looked up.

"Who are you?" The man asked in a monotone voice. He seemed bored with life.

"Just a traveling Shinigami. Got a bit lost, and here I am." I answered.

"You... seem strong..." He said after a short evaluation.

"For some, maybe, but I still lack the power that I need for my goal."

"And what is your goal?"

That doesn't need to be said, but for the Hollows in front of me who don't know me, I vocalized my thoughts.

"All I want in life is for my family and friends to be safe."

"Are they strong?" The man in front of me was seemingly focused on strength, but it was born from wanting companionship. If someone is too weak, they die near him.

"Some are, others aren't."

"I see..."

And so silence came for a short while, but shortly after, I gave the pair of Hollows words of encouragement and some advice about the future. Afterward, I stayed with them for a few days to just sit with them and talk from time to time and occasionally fight.

That was my first meeting with Coyote Stark and Lilynette Gingerbuck.

(3rd's pov)

After his talk with Rin, Akio decided to talk with his dad's acquaintances. He wanted to talk with anyone who knew his father. It didn't matter if they saw him once a year or if they were his lifelong friend. All information was valuable, no matter how small or minuscule it was. He wanted to get the whole picture, so he went after all rumors and whatnot.

Akio heard things that he had already known, or at least he thought that he knew, but they were mostly from rumors. That Ryoto is a bastard, a playboy, that he tricked his lovers into being with him. Things like that.

What was worrisome for Akio was that the closer someone was to his dad, the better their opinion of him became. There were, of course, some that didn't like him, like Kiyone, his mother's sister, but even she had a few good words about him.

Everyone close to Ryoto had a good opinion of him.

Captain Ukitake holds him in high regard as Ryoto was his lieutenant many years ago, but even after that, he didn't stop to try and help his former captain until he managed to do something even Captain Unohana couldn't achieve.

Members of the Kuchiki family that were close to Ryoto felt indebted to him. Ryoto just helped them too much without taking anything back until now.

The Shihoin clan was very different. While they had a high opinion of his father, it was strange. It wasn't because he was kind, had a great personality, or even a great captain. They were admiring his assassination abilities. It would be something that would be in line with his father's character in his mind until he heard a reason for this. Apparently, Ryoto worked for the clan only on one condition, and it was for Yukima to be left alone.

Soi Fon was a strange one. While she was talking the whole time about how much her captain was annoying her, she couldn't hide that she cared for him. It was easy for Akio to see that she didn't know her mother's killer. It was almost tempting to tell her the truth, but it wasn't his truth to tell. Not after he discovered the reason why his father did that.

It could be possible that his father was just a great liar like he initially thought, but the more he listened, the less he believed in it. A person can wear a mask around other people. He can even wear many different fronts and choose which one to show to whom, but there would be moments when it would crack, even if momentarily. It wasn't the case where Ryoto tried to look perfect to others. He showed his flaws at times. Mostly his laziness.

It could mean only one thing... Ryoto didn't wear a mask in front of his family and friends. But there was an inconsistency with that. Akio was sure of what he saw. Multiple times at that. While it was when he was much younger, he wouldn't be able to mistake it for anything else.

Before he made another assumption, there was one more person he needed to talk with. His mother.

---

Akio was nervous, very nervous. For a good reason, one might add. From what he learned, his father wasn't what he thought he was, and if his father wasn't abusive or manipulative as he believed, it would mean that he had done many unforgivable things, which included villainizing his parent, criminalizing Yoruichi, Urahara, and others and many more without any justification.

This scared him. All he believed in, all his motivation, for nothing. Not only that. If he was mistaken, if somehow his eyes were mistaken, if what he saw was somehow a lie, it would mean that he did something he promised himself never to do.

Harm his family.

Some of Akio's actions can indeed be categorized as hurting his family, but mostly, there was a reason for that.

He criminalized Yoruichi so she could be as far from Ryoto as possible. In other words, safe.

He antagonized his siblings primarily because of frustration, but he was hoping that they'll realize how blind they were. Maybe he was just mad at their ignorance, but he wasn't actively harming them.

As much as Akio wanted to be calm, calculated, and composed, he wasn't. It was a problem from the beginning. Even when he was younger, he was jealous of his older brother's composure, skill, and decisiveness, and this issue wasn't resolved when he got older. It could be why he was so frustrated at Masaru. Why he, who in his mind was inferior, could notice something that his older brother couldn't.

But thinking about it won't help him with his issue. Whatever his mother will tell him will be a deciding factor. No matter what he learned in the past few days, it could still be an illusion created by his father, but Isane was part of the event that was the cause of all his decisions. She would be a deciding factor. He didn't want to ask about it before because he didn't want to upset her or remind her of a reality that would better be forgotten, but he couldn't afford it right now. He needs to know the truth no matter what. That's why he will talk with his mother.

It was finally time to learn the truth.

---

END

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

Patreön.com/Kurit (Up to 10 chapters ahead and exclusive illustrations.)