The Epic of Leviathan (A Mutant's Ascension)

[4th Division, Seireitei]

"Regardless of your beliefs I can protect myself Isane" Unohana Retsu spoke with a kind smile on her face.

Isane wanted to protest, but she swallowed her words when her Captain narrowed her eyes. Isane swore inside her mind.

Most of the time Captain Unohana was most kind, gentle, and caring but there were a few instances when she was scary as hell.

"I understand" Isane said in a sullen tone and Unohana Retsu\'s features softened. The gentle and kind smile on her face was already back.

"Take care, Isane. I will be back before dark" Unohana said and she used Flash Step and disappeared.

Isane kept staring at the place where Captain Unohana was standing a few seconds ago… after a few seconds, Isane released a defeated sigh..

It has been a couple of months since she had noticed some minor changes in Captain Unohana. The changes were really minor but Isane noticed them as she spent most of her time accompanying the said woman.

Captain Unohana\'s smiles were brighter after she returned from her usual herb collection excursions, but this wasn\'t the most worrying change.

Captain Unohana used to have these excursions only once per week but now she would go out two or three times per week… that was a drastic change… something Isane failed to ignore.

Isane was really really worried for her Captain. So, she decided to chat with other women but none of them were able to give her anything solid… though one of her fellow lieutenants had said that Captain Unohana had found someone special.

Even if the scenario was quite surreal, the chances were pretty high. All the signs were there but who could have caught Captain Unohana\'s eyes… or was it the other way around.

They were curious but they weren\'t suicidal. They knew that Captain Unohana was a kind and gentle woman but sometimes she can be really scary. So, all of them decided to drop the matter.

While Isane was stewing in curiosity. Unohana Retsu appeared in the middle of the forest and found a man was already waiting for her. The man turned towards Unohana Retsu and gave her a brilliant smile.

Unohana Retsu approached the man and sat down beside him. "Sorry for being late Reo-Kun, once again Isane was worried about me" Unohana Retsu said in her usual tone.

"No problem, Retsu-San. She really cares about her… now, I feel somewhat guilty" Reo said with a smile and Retsu simply shook her head.

"You don\'t need to… it is completely fine" Retsu said as she started to pour tea for themselves. Reo accepted the offered cup as both of them started to sip tea in complete silence.

They found the silence to be really comforting. Even though Reo wasn\'t a fan of tea he relished the flavors of the tea. There was something about the whole atmosphere… both of them felt completely relaxed.

After a few minutes, both of them finally finished their tea. Reo returned the cup and Retsu was about to pour another cup but Reo stopped her.

"...I have brought something new today… have you ever tried an ice cream?" Reo asked and Retsu tilted her head, but she nodded her head.

"I have… it is available in Seireitei though I won\'t deny your offer" Retsu said with a smile as a small portal appeared beside him. Reo pulled out two ice cream cones from the portal and offered one of them to Retsu.

Retsu accepted the dessert with a bright smile on her face… she took a small bite to ascertain the taste.

Only after a second Retsu\'s eyes grew wide in surprise and she started to lick the ice cream with a happy smile on her face.

"Not disappointed, right?" Reo asked and Retsu nodded her head.

"...Though there is something I have been wondering…" Reo said, his words were laced with a questioning undertone. Retsu tilted her head in confusion, so Reo decided to continue.

"You have never asked me about my powers… Why is that?" Reo asked curiously.

"...Reo-Kun, do you wish to cause me harm?" After a few moments of silence, Retsu asked with a soft smile on her face.

"Of course not" Reo\'s answer came as soon as Retsu finished her question. Hearing Reo\'s reply, Retsu nodded her head.

"Then I don\'t have anything to worry about… everyone has their own secrets, I have some of them too… and I thought that you would be uncomfortable so I didn\'t ask…" Retsu said with a shrug.

"...Tell me Retsu… do you want to visit the human world?" Reo asked, taking a leap of faith… he had noticed that their relationship wasn\'t progressing so he decided to try something new.

"So that is where you bring all these foods from?" Retsu asked curiously and Reo shook his head.

"Sometimes… but most of the time I make them myself" Reo said and Retsu seemed to contemplate for a few seconds before she tilted her head in confusion.

"Aren\'t you worried that I will try to detain you?" Retsu asked and Reo rubbed his chin after hearing the woman\'s question.

"...Not exactly, that is not like you" Reo said with a reassuring smile on his face.

"I could inform the Captain-Commander too… it is my duty as a Captain" Retsu said in a warning tone but Reo simply smiled.

"I won\'t mind if you inform him but tell me do you really want to do that?" Reo asked and Retsu looked away from him as she decided to remain silent for a couple of minutes.

"No… I won\'t… I have come to relish our meetings… Captain-Commander or someone else might notice my absence so I would have to deny your offer" Retsu said as her usual smile returned to her face.

"You don\'t have to worry about that… no one will notice anything" Reo said and Retsu agreed after a few moments.

The next second the two of them found themselves on a street filled with street food stalls. For a second, Unohana Retsu thought that it was an illusion.

So she started to look around carefully. \'This isn\'t an illusion… Everything around me is real… I am in the Human World. But how did he bring me? I didn\'t feel anything\' Retsu thought with a thin smile on her face.

"Did you use some kind of forbidden space-time Kido Spell?" Retsu asked and gave Reo a questioning look. She was accusing… She was simply curious.

Reo chuckled after hearing her words. "No… it was Space Manipulation, pure and simple" Reo said and Retsu nodded her head.

\'She accepted my reasoning just like that? Her priorities are messed up\' Reo thought as he noticed Retsu was eyeing the food stalls.

"So, Retsu-San, did any of these stalls catch your attention?" Reo asked and Retsu pointed towards the Tacos from Hell stall. Reo simply smirked as he led Retsu to the stall.

Retsu\'s eyes grew wide in shock when Reo started to interact with the stall owner like he was a normal human. \'How is he doing that? The human doesn\'t even have an ounce of Reiatsu… So how?\' Retsu wondered.

Reo paid the money and walked away from the stall with Retsu, she didn\'t miss the fact that the stall owner started to ignore him as soon as Reo paid the money.

"How did you interact with him?" Retsu questioned… She really wanted to try the food but she was curious too.

"It\'s simple… I simply wanted to interact with him so he interacted with me" Reo said and questions marks appeared on Retsu\'s face but she decided to give up the stupid questions as she had something more important to do.

She needed to taste the food in her hands. Reo could only smile wryly seeing her act like that… \'Why am I only interested in eccentric women?\' Reo questioned but no one answered him.

"I envy Humans, they get to eat so many delicious foods every day" Retsu said when she finished her taco.

"I can bring you food every day if you want" Reo offered but Retsu quickly denied the offer.

"It\'s not that I don\'t want to see you… or meet you. It is the opposite… but if you regularly bring me all these delicious foods then I will lose the ability to eat normal food" Retsu said with a grin. I guess I understand where she is coming from.

"So… what\'s next?" Retsu asked and Reo simply waved his hand and several types of visions appeared in front of Retsu\'s eyes…

\'Hmm… I wonder how many of them I will be able to try before I need to go back…\' Retsu thought but her facial expressions were completely neutral.

"Why don\'t you surprise me…?" Retsu asked after a few moments, unable to decide what she wanted to eat… everything looked delicious.

"Sure…" Reo said and started to lead Retsu through the food stalls and Retsu was obviously surprised…

Reo and Retsu returned to Soul Society after a few hours and it was almost dark in the Soul Society…

"I had a lot of fun today…" Retsu said with a gentle and kind smile on her face.

"I had a lot of fun too, we can do it some other time if you want…" Reo offered and Retsu eagerly nodded her head.

"Reo-Kun… forgive me but I have to cut it short… I need to return" Retsu said while waving at Reo… Reo looked sad but he still nodded his head.

Retsu gave him another smile and used Flash Step to disappear from Reo\'s view…