Bleach: Cero Devastador

It was quite ironic to think the final destination of wandering souls after trodding on earth was a bureaucratic shithole filled with weaklings stuck up and believing themselves aristocrats in a society who revered the strong.

"To enter the district of Rukon for the first time, you must pay twenty thousand kan of fee per head, you will receive a pass which you can use to travel in the centre of ten districts until the first one, Junrinan. This pass won't allow you into the Seireitei. Do you still wish to enter?"

A man stretched his hand forward. He was a Shinigami dressed in black haori. Of all the districts we went through, this was the first time we were charged to enter by a Shinigami... and it was such an outrageous amount at that.

"Here you go" I paid enough for all of us to go in.

The man looked shocked that we had the amount, it made sense. Looking around us, we were the only ones who tried to enter, there was nobody else... which means not many people make this transition.

"Which district do you come from?"

"Inuzuri".

!!!

His shock was even more so now, a face that had surprise in it, now contemplated suspicion. We're from the lowest stratum that you can't think of.

"May I know the origin of this money".

Murasaki said, "That's none of your business, Shinigami-san. You're only here to charge the fee; stop sticking your nose where you're not asked".

I had the urge to chuckle when I looked around; Mikoto, Sakuya, Ryousuke and Ryota looked like they were willing to duck it out with the shinigami were he to get any funnier. 

It seems I have influenced them quite a bit. It is to be expected, they have spent months with me by now and have known nothing but glory and pleasures for that long. 

"As expected of peasants, roguish and undisciplined" The Shinigami huffed a breath of disdain, took the money, gave us our passes and allowed us in. He had no authority to question anything, especially to question people with money. 

This is the kind of society this is.

I felt disgusted, and harrowed… in a culture where strength and swordsmanship determine everything, these weaklings actually dare look at others beneath their shoulders. I immediately sensed why as we walked through the streets that were categorically different from what we had seen so far... so much so that I could visually see Sakuya's anger.

With how much I had fought, I could already understand and sense Reiryoku very well, the spiritual force. The people in this district were perhaps less prone to violence, but they weren't weak by any means... their reiryoku was higher on average. 

This means they have a lot of potential to become stronger compared to those in the lower districts. Everyone dressed neatly and smiled, everyone had shoes or sandals to cover their feet... everyone looked so happy while those outside were miserable. 

The Bourgeoisie. 

...

We began this journey with more than ten million kan and now we have more than a hundred, all thanks to Murasaki's insights in betting and of course, his confidence in me.

I fought at least a hundred fights in the underworld on our way here, I fought many fights every day even against Sakuya's wishes.

This network extends through the whole soul society regardless of district, although every district has different fighters. The fights became tougher as we climbed up... I was eager to see what the tenth district had to offer. But first, we had to eat like the Bourgeoisie. 

Our mechanism was simple. Sakuya and Mikoto tended to me and made sure I was satisfied in every way and ready to fight, Murasaki found me opponents and prepared the bets... all I required of them was to let me fight the strongest available. However, sometimes it wasn't that simple.

Some stuck-up assholes put conditions for the fights. For example: some bastard called Reiji from the 20th district proposed that I defeat five of his underlings together before qualifying to fight him.

Needless to say, I devastated all of them, it was a bit disappointing that fighting his five underlings was harder than fighting him... we tripled our money that night. 

...

We entered a restaurant. It looked beyond posh compared to what you would find outside. A bit out of place carrying so many bags with us, things we had accumulated during our journey, but it didn't matter... we weren't here to impress.

"What do you boys want to eat? We have to celebrate that we reached here~" Sakuya said joyfully as we were handed over the menu.

All of us had a look at it, I put it down right away.

"I-I don't know anything in this menu, onee-chan" Ryōsuke pointed out my thoughts, he then turned to look at Ryōta who shook his head too.

Ryota then looked at Mikoto and Murasaki... and finally, everyone stared at me.

"I didn't pick the restaurant..." I said with a deadpan; I would have been happy with noodles, but Ryōta and Murasaki wanted to try something posh.

"Onii-chan, it looked delicious!"

"Then choose anything out of it, anything will be delicious..."

"Hum..."

...

We walked out of the restaurant with Sakuya comforting Ryouta. The boy stuck his tongue out, his eyes watering. He had chosen some delicious-looking spicy thing by mistake. 

"Get noodles next time..." I sighed. 

"What hotel should we look for?" Mikoto tugged at me. There are a lot more options next time. Look!"

I looked at her and Sakuya, "Why don't we buy a house?"

"Huh?!"

The boys cheered, Murasaki jumped, and Mikoto cried in happiness... but the one I expected to be the most exalted, Sakuya, looked at me worriedly. 

"What's wrong, you don't like it?".

"I-If that's what you wish..." She stuttered, downcast. 

...

The process of buying a house was a lot longer than I thought, it took weeks and we had to stay in a hotel anyway until Sakuya found the house that she thought was 'perfect'. Or maybe, that was one of her delaying tactics.

I left all that for them to solve and hopped off to see what this district had to offer. There are several reasons why I decided to get a house; It was mostly for their sake.

Lately, I feel I am being followed... I haven't caught a glimpse of anyone being overly suspicious; but my hints are all related to my capabilities to sense Reiryoku. I have felt the same reading plenty of times during the last month even in places where we shouldn't be surveilled. Whoever it is that is following us, is obviously after me... or better said, they're after Kamishiro Inuzuri.

It is better if there are more instances when I'm on my own so that they feel more compelled to make a move and the others won't be at risk, that's one reason I am buying a house.

My identity as Ryoma is not the same as my one as Kamishiro Inuzuri. It is understandable that someone would feel concerned that some random dude is making a name for himself in Rokungai out of nowhere, maybe even that Kenpachi is the one behind it.

However, if they're after Ryōma... then it can only be related to Shuhei Ryosuke and this Asauchi. 

When all of those matters dawn on me, I'd rather be alone. 

They're dependable, they're hard-working, they're loyal... but they're not fighters. 

The one with the most potential to be a fighter is unexpectedly Mikoto, not because she's specially good with a weapon, but because she's daring and proactive compared to the rest. Even though she's got not capabilities she's not afraid to stand at the forefront with me.

She's got will. 

Murasaki is a sketchy guy, he's a little rat that cares about his people but deep inside has ambitions of himself. I can tell he won't be with us for long... he's got ambitions of one day being the leader of his own group, caring for his people on his way. 

As for Sakuya, even if she ever had the potential to be a fighter, that would all be overshadowed by her warm nature. This woman can't hurt a fly... and those who don't have the will even to hurt someone, can't possibly be fighters. 

'Their end of the line is not by my side...' I sighed, 'However, I will enjoy their company a bit more'.