ack at the house midday, Leo looked at the silent house. He sighed, murmuring, "Shower first."
After refreshing himself, he headed to the kitchen, finding something to eat. Just as he was about to laze on the couch with a couple of smokes, he heard the doorbell ring.
"Alfred?" he asked with a frown. The TV popped up with a live feed from the front door camera.
"Eh!" Leo was surprised by this guest at midday: Unohana, wearing a classic yukata with a flowing water design, her hair tightly bound in front of her chest.
Skipping to open the door, the lady Unohana appeared in front of him, but not in her standard Shinigami uniform.
"Oh? Leo, so you are really her son. How are you doing?" Unohana said, surprising Leo.
"Well, nice to meet you again. I am good. Is there anything I can help you with?" Leo said, confused by the abrupt visit, and more so by her way of talking, as if she knew him personally.
"Well, I came this morning, but no one was here," she said, smiling at him. "Can I have some of your time?"
"Well, how about we have a talk inside over a cup of tea?" Leo invited her inside.
"Ah, yes. Sorry. I heard the rumors," she said after stepping inside.
Surprised by her comment, he smiled sadly. "You probably didn't know. They had an accident years ago and went missing."
For a fraction of a second, the mood turned bloody, causing him to flinch. Looking back at his guest carefully, he didn't see any change, despite knowing for a fact that the shift had come from her.
'Scary, really scary woman,' Leo summarized the person in front of him with those words, not because of her bloody mood, but because of the fact that she was hiding it so well.
"I never thought it was true, given no one really wanted or could piss your parents off."
"I don't know how it feels, but I am sure they both are alive and well," Looking at Leo for a second, she somehow tiptoed to pat his head. "And I am also very sure they wouldn't have left you behind if they had a choice."
As funny as it was, Leo felt the warmth from her action. And there was no chance in the nine hells he would laugh at this kind of woman, right after she tried to show care.
As they sat, Leo got out the tea-making set (a Japanese one). Under her observation, he made a couple of cups.
Handing a cup to Unohana and picking up his own.
After a quick sniff, she took a deep sip. A couple of seconds passed before she let out a contented sigh.
"Your skill in tea making is just like your mother's: 'equally crappy'," Unohana said with the sunniest smile Leo had ever seen.
Leo almost choked in the middle of his sip, and before he could rebuke or even answer, he noticed that she was looking at him with a frown for no reason. Soon, she put down her cup and got close, revealing the scar on his right shoulder.
"You were out fighting?" she smiled with approval. "But the healing process left some leftover energy inside. That's what left the scar behind."
Putting her hand on top of the scar, it started to glow and stopped a second later. "All good," Retrieving her hand, she sat back.
"So, can you share the story? Think of it as healing payment," she sipped her tea, adding, "From the look of it, you healed yourself?"
Leo was surprised for a second before nodding in understanding. The lady in front of him, if judged by the original background, was older than his whole family put together. Finding the cause of the wound from a first glance was nothing impossible.
"Well, yeah...." Leo recounted what happened in the wave, omitting the family drama.
After getting to the end of the story, Unohana looked at him with a deep look, asking, half-surprised, half-not believing, "You said you had a Zanpakuto, and you are already at Shikai level!?"
Nodding at her, showing her his claw, sadly, even after minutes of careful observation, she didn't seem to pick up the feeling of the Zanpakuto from them, so she gave him a weird look. "Is this some joke?" This was what her eyes said.
"I can show you the first release, if you want?" Leo said in a give-up tone, not really knowing why he was even keeping up with her.
"Hmm, go ahead," Rising her hand and using her Reiryoku to seal the room, she gave him the signal.
As Leo released his pair of Zanpakutos, Unohana stood in shock to murmur, "Impossible! It's true."
Unohana POV (Flashback to Soul Society)
"So, you're going to visit that brat?" the captain of the First Division asked Unohana, his eyes still on the permission slip in his hand.
"Mhm," Unohana answered with a nod. "The brat has gone completely off the grid."
As one of her oldest friends, and the captain of the Gotei 13, he knew the girl (Leo's mother) personally, as she trained in her teen years in the Soul Society.
"If I remember correctly, she lives in America now?" the old man asked before handing her a file. "While you are there, can you inspect this case?"
"Really? This is a personal matter I am going to," she answered with a raised eyebrow.
"I know, but the whole thing is weird. Just read the file first," he pointed, and she complied.
This time, it was her turn to be surprised. The file had the signatures of all Council Members, and the case was even weirder.
The investigation was about a new writer. The Nobles in Soul Society tried to use their connections first but came up null, as if they were looking for a ghost. After deeper research, they found some connection to the old Rageheart family, the sole leader for the supernatural in America.
And here came the most fun part: the so-called literary works he published so far had a story and world-setting that existed in one of the dimensions. But the highlight, 'One Piece,' this work actually describes a very old and known dimension, which works as a seal for a certain entity. This being is one of the oldest and most immortal of this world, some said that it is the origin of the supernaturals. Of course, that stays in the old literatures, and someone who can describe that dimension, with specific land mass, is on another level.
This caused them to believe that this author either had a connection to the said dimension, or he was a 'star's child'.
And in both cases, he remained a dangerous variable to be in the hands of evil entities.
And here came the reason Unohana was assigned: knowing her student was groomed to be one of the direct inheritors of the said family (Rageheart) gave her a better chance to find him than anyone else. Sadly, the two in question were already missing.
"I get what they want, but don't raise your hopes. The last information about them was that they disappeared, not leaving a hint behind." After understanding the matter, she nodded and left the First Division directly to the 'Gate'.
Passing the Dangai, she didn't take a direct line but took a smaller entrance. While entering the Soul Society, every being has to pass through the Dangai in a straight line, but when leaving, they discover some cracks that lead to other places worldwide, so they use it to travel and do their mission.
Finding herself on a shore of the other side of the planet, she sighed and took her phone. "First, where are we?" as she looked at the map.
And by that time, she sensed a burst of Reiatsu, but somehow it felt familiar. Miles away, slipping behind the veil, she sped up in that direction.
And from the distance, she sensed the fight going on, and the sight left her surprised, as it felt like the way the Second Division fights.
Arriving, she found a man standing on the fading remnants of some Hollows. After some talking, she was surprised by the fact that he knew her and asked about training in swordsmanship.
As a known fact, they do train other organizations, if the price is right, but aside from the high prices, the cruel teaching and techniques leave their faction in bad taste for others. So him asking this meant he had the capital and guts to back it up.
Leo, of course, didn't know all that. He was just interested in training his swordsmanship, and Unohana, with her multiple fighting styles, would help him.
After leaving him, she first started to look for any clues about her disciple. That took her to the police office in Forks Town, in Jekay this time.
"Hello, how can we help you?" Charlie asked. "If you need a translator, please signal it, as I don't speak Japanese."
Looking at the man talking slowly in front of her, she smiled and answered, "It's okay, I speak English."
"That's good. I should have taken Jason and Yuna's advice; you really don't know when a language skill comes in handy," Charlie said, smiling in relief.
"You know that brat?" Unohana said in a surprised tone. "That is actually the reason I am here. Can you be kind and tell me where she lives?"
"Brat?" Charlie looked at the lady in front of her, weirded out by the choice of word, but let it drop. "Well, I do know them."
"Sadly, they both passed away two years ago," he sighed, saddened. "If you don't mind me asking, what relation did you have with them?"
"Well, I was wondering, so that's why," Unohana frowned, knowing that the accident definitely wasn't normal, and there was no way they were dead, as she trained the pair personally and knew what they were capable of.
"As for what relation," she smiled, "I was their teacher in their teens."
"I see," Despite not buying it, he nodded not to be rude. "Then you may know their kid is living here?"
"Oh? So he got back to this town?" Unohana asked. "Can I have the address, please?"
"Okay then," Charlie wrote the address. "This is Leonard Rageheart's address."
"Wait, Leonard is their kid?" Looking at the address, she sighed. "Now this is interesting."
"Oh, you know him?" Charlie asked curiously.
"I met him before and found him familiar," she answered. "Now I know why. Then again, not many have that unique hair color; I should know better."
Nodding at her, he escorted her to the door. Not seeing any ride around, "Want me to take you there?" he proposed.
"No thanks, I need some fresh air. Thanks for the help," With a little bow, she left. Turning into the side of the building, she vanished.
Later, she found her way to the house. Sadly, no one was there, so she headed to the publishing house responsible for Moon Lion's works to start the investigation.
And surprisingly, the said publishing house was actually under the famous Leo Enterprise, making it a little tricky.
Coming up with nothing all day long, she found herself back in Forks right on time to notice an aircraft landing.
Looking carefully, a hatch opened behind the house before a jet fighter slipped from the invisible mode and entered the hatch to close behind it.
"Oh, is he a part-time spy now?" Unohana smiled wryly. "I told them they would get him into chaos with how they raised him, but..."
Seeing a jet fighter entering the backyard of a mansion in a place like this really screamed spy, but that was only for Unohana.
After some time around, she figured that no one was actually in that craft, so she waited a couple of minutes and decided to come back, in favor of looking at the neighbors.
Despite her long life and wide knowledge, she didn't get the chance to see some races and species, and Gelida and the famous American Bestia were among them. Honestly, she was curious if the Gelida really glowed like a disco ball.
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"Here is the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you for reading, and please drop a comment with your thoughts on the story!
also check out my fanfic, 'In a Mashed-Up Movies World.' I honestly think it's a step up in my writing, and I'd love your comparison!
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