Crossover: The Problematic Human of Arcadia — Shaper of Anime Worlds Chapter 23: Killing Mayuri Kurotsuchi? (Bonus)

— — — — — —

When Ryo saw Mayuri Kurotsuchi standing squarely in the middle of the road, he tilted his head slightly and said to Orihi:

"Step back into that alley behind . No need to go far."

"Okay. Be careful, Uryu-kun."

Orihi didn't argue. She quietly slipped behind Ryo, trusting his judgnt.

She knew her strength lay in healing, not fighting. In a situation like this, the smartest thing to do was follow his lead.

Mayuri only spared Orihi a brief glance before losing interest entirely.

To him, she was just another pretty face—no Reiatsu to speak of, no killing intent, and her delicate, pale fingers were clearly not those of a warrior. Even if she had so kind of ability, she wasn't a threat.

By contrast, Ryo's appearance—his disguise—caught his attention much more.

Ignoring Orihi's retreat, Mayuri's eyes scanned Ryo up and down, finally locking onto the cross-shaped bracelet on his hand.

"That bracelet... it's a Quincy's spirit bow, isn't it?"

"As you can see."

Ryo adjusted his glasses, tone flat and casual.

Since he was pretending to be Uryu Ishida, he might as well play the part properly.

"Oh? Then do you happen to know soone nad Sōken Ishida?"

Sōken Ishida was Uryu's grandfather—widely known as the last Quincy.

Years ago, when Uryu was still a child, Sōken was attacked by Hollows and killed while trying to protect him. His soul was supposedly rescued by the Shinigami and brought into Soul Society.

At least, that was the official story.

But judging by Mayuri's twisted grin, it was obvious there was more to the tale.

Mayuri lazily played with his fingers, eyes narrowing with a sinister glint.

It was clear he believed Ryo would care deeply about Sōken Ishida.

Seeing that, Ryo raised an eyebrow slightly and played along. "You've t him?"

Mayuri grinned and held up one finger, voice full of mock cheer. "t him? I dissected him~"

"When that old man got ambushed by Hollows, he called for help from Soul Society. I went out of my way to stall the rescue team and got my hands on his soul. Thinking back, that was a few years ago now…"

"Oh, and before he faded away, he kept calling one na—Uryu. That's your na, isn't it?"

"No way..." Orihi, hiding in the alley, turned pale.

She might be a little airheaded sotis, but she wasn't dumb. It was easy to piece together that Sōken Ishida was related to Uryu Ishida.

But for Mayuri to have intentionally let him die, then dissected him like so lab rat—that was sothing she couldn't even begin to understand.

How could anyone be that cruel?

Ryo lowered his head slightly, glasses hiding his eyes.

Seeing that, Mayuri continued to twirl his fingers, smirking. "So… you are Sōken's grandson, aren't you?"

HUMMMM—

Reiatsu erupted from Ryo like a thundercloud, rolling down the narrow alleyway with a suffocating presence.

Mayuri only smirked in return. He gauged the power and looked unimpressed.

"The old man died before I could finish studying him. I had to put my Quincy research on hold," Mayuri said, raising three fingers. "But now, looks like I can pick up where I left off."

"Three... two...one—drop."

Ryo didn't move. He stood there calmly, eyes fixed on Mayuri.

Mayuri's grin twitched, then dropped into a confused scowl.

"What the—? Where's the toxin I released into the air? With the ti that's passed and your Reiatsu spiking, it should've already spread through your body!"

This entire setup—his speech, his taunts—was all just a distraction. A way to trigger the airborne reishi toxin he'd laced throughout the area and incapacitate Ryo without a fight.

But clearly, things weren't going according to plan.

"Oh, you an those reishi particles floating in the air?"

Ryo adjusted his glasses again, his gaze calm and flat.

"That kind of thing... I just crushed it with my Reiatsu."

BOOM—!

A wave of crimson spiritual energy flooded the alley like blood, staining the world red. Everything, from the walls to the ground to the very air, was consud in that scarlet glow.

For a mont, Mayuri couldn't move at all.

"This level of Reiatsu? No way—you're just a Quincy!!"

Ryo didn't answer. He raised his arm slowly, and in a flash of red light, a glowing gold-red spirit bow ford in his hand.

"Wait, let's talk this out! Killing won't do you any good!"

Now Mayuri was panicking. The crushing weight of Ryo's reiatsu pinned him down, rendering him helpless.

If he died like this, before he could even use his Bankai, it'd be over.

But if he could stall—just a few seconds more—he could unleash his Bankai, spike his Reiatsu tenfold, and maybe claw his way out.

"Killing won't benefit you."

Ryo smiled as he pulled the bowstring back, that terrifying spiritual energy concentrating at the tip. Mayuri shivered—the only ti he'd felt sothing like this was from Zaraki Kenpachi at full power.

It was the kind of force that could erase him in an instant.

"Let's make a deal! Tell what you want! I'll give you anything!"

Mayuri's mouth was the only thing he could move now, and he was frantically running it. He'd just wanted to nab a few ryoka and maybe snag a new test subject. He didn't expect to walk into a death trap.

Dying like this? No way. Not him.

"Anything?" Ryo's eyes narrowed. He glanced behind Mayuri, where a girl was kneeling under the weight of his Reiatsu.

That girl was Nemu Kurotsuchi—his lieutenant.

Seeing that, Mayuri seed to understand what Ryo ant. He shouted without hesitation:

"Fine! I get it!"

Then, without missing a beat: "Nemu! From this mont on, he's your master! You got that?!"

Nemu blinked, seemingly stunned as she stared at Mayuri's back.

When she didn't respond, Mayuri snapped in anger.

"Did you hear ?! You're no longer my creation!"

Still no response.

Mayuri quickly turned back to Ryo. "That's good enough, right?"

Ryo gave a small nod.

Mayuri, thinking he'd dodged death, began to smile in relief.

And then—

"Goodbye."

Ryo let go of the string.

BOOM!

A blinding crimson beam tore through Mayuri's body, pierced straight through a dozen alleyways and buildings, and smashed into the protective wall surrounding the Seireitei—blasting a massive hole into it.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Alarms scread across the city as the warning ssages flew through the kido network to every Shinigami in the Seireitei:

WARNING: Abnormal Reiatsu detected in Division 5's territory!

WARNING: Abnormal Reiatsu detected in Division 5's territory!

Ryo lowered his bow, and the suffocating pressure in the air faded with it.

Adjusting his glasses again, he muttered:

"Let's see if killing a captain is enough to make Yamamoto stop pretending to sleep. Though… probably not."

He smiled faintly, then walked over to Nemu—who was drenched in sweat—knelt beside her, and gently lifted her chin.

"Tell , woman… do you want revenge?"

Nemu stared at him in confusion.

Then, like soone waking from a dream, her eyes regained focus.

Mayuri had died too fast—so fast, in fact, she hadn't even had ti to process it.

But through her senses and unique perception, she could tell: he was gone. Completely.

A Soul Society captain, killed without even drawing his Zanpakuto.

As a synthetic soul created by Mayuri, Nemu was left completely at a loss.

Ryo, still smiling, asked again:

"Want to co with ?"

Her eyes slowly cleared.

Her "father" was gone, but in his final act, he'd passed her on to soone else. That was enough. Enough reason to keep living.

Silently, Nemu lowered her head and knelt before Ryo on one knee.

"How interesting."

Ryo patted her shoulder with a grin, then turned his gaze toward the main building of the Gotei 13 and said with a smirk:

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Nemu rose, bowed, and took her place behind Ryo—just as she once had behind Mayuri.

As if… nothing had changed at all.

.

.

.