Chapter 3: Mr. Yeruashi is Too Capable |
"I see."
Yeruashi nodded knowingly after listening to Hisana's detailed account.
Through his Eyes of God, he could grasp the general structure of the Soul Society, but many specific nuances of daily life as a soul remained a mystery to him.
Yeruashi had played an active role in the Soul Society's creation, but he had only established its initial framework. The intricate details of its subsequent development were, of course, unpredictable.
The Soul King Palace, Hell, the Dangai, and many other locations had not even been created back then. After Yeruashi's departure, the Soul King must have implemented a series of additions and refinements to the world they had forged together.
"There is quite a lot of vacant land in this area, so you can easily choose any open spot to build your own home."
Hisana sat on a simple bench and said sheepishly, "My house is very humble, but even building it took quite a bit of effort."
Yeruashi smiled. "It is a bit small..."
In truth, it was a stretch to call the structure a house. The tiny shack, clumsily cobbled together from a mismatched variety of materials, practically screamed of poverty and desperation.
"I understand."
Yeruashi nodded, paying close attention to every piece of advice Hisana offered.
He took great pleasure in learning the details of life in the Soul Society. As the creator of this world, he inevitably felt a sense of nostalgia and emotion as he observed how this once-barren world had transformed over a million years.
Even though the Soul Society had become what it was today under the management of the Soul King, this world still contained a part of Yeruashi. Watching the changes that had occurred over a million years was akin to watching a child grow into adulthood.
Hisana hesitated for a moment before continuing her story. "Souls here do not need food to survive; usually, the reishi in the atmosphere and water is quite enough. Real food here is much more valuable and rare than in the world of the living..."
As Hisana spoke, she cast occasional concerned glances at Yeruashi, but he only offered a calm smile in return. "I understand. Thank you for explaining."
Hisana flushed and bashfully looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with Yeruashi's handsome and incredibly kind face.
When Yeruashi showed not even a hint of disappointment or regret over giving her such valuable food, Hisana suddenly realized what Lilith meant when she said she was lucky. She truly was fortunate to have met such a kind and caring person...
Hisana lowered her head and continued her tale. "But in the Soul Society, not just food, but water holds much greater value than in the world of the living... at least in the more remote districts. The closer a district is to the outskirts of Rukongai, the more barren its water sources become. Rumors reach us that in the central districts, there are large rivers where any soul can drink freely, just like in the world of the living..."
"But the channels of those great rivers gradually narrow as they approach the outskirts of Rukongai. By the time you reach the districts starting from the seventieth, even small streams are hard to find, and water is drawn from springs or wells."
In the Soul Society, everything is composed of reishi, including the water. Therefore, the abundance and volume of water sources depend on the concentration of reishi in the atmosphere.
When looking at the Soul Society from a great height, one could see that the rivers near the Seireitei had wide channels that branched and narrowed like tree roots as they spread across the Rukongai.
In the most remote regions of Rukongai, these once-rich and abundant water sources thinned so significantly that Yeruashi could only detect a few clusters of water resembling oases scattered across a vast desert.
"...they say that in the eightieth district, there aren't even any springs, but our situation isn't much better. There is only one water source in the area, and it is not only quite meager but also controlled by a gang."
Hisana sighed. "I almost never manage to get even a drop of water from them, so I have to rely on collecting dew..."
Normally, the collected dew was barely enough to sustain her own life, let alone give some to Rukia. That was why Hisana had made the heart-wrenching decision to abandon her sister, but just as she was about to do it, Yeruashi had suddenly appeared.
"It seems surviving in the remote districts is no easy task."
Yeruashi continued to smile despite Hisana's rather bleak story.
Hisana nodded and said seriously, "Getting to other districts of Rukongai is very difficult, especially from remote areas like ours. In the central and middle districts, there are usually people responsible for maintaining order, but that doesn't apply to the outskirts. It can be very dangerous here..."
Hisana didn't have the chance to move to a more prosperous district not just because of the distance, but because of the extreme danger of such a journey. In the residential zone where they were now, there was at least a minimal sense of safety and order, but in the zones on the edge of the district, murder and robbery were considered the norm.
Hisana fell into a slump for a moment, but soon raised her head again and smiled. "From today on, you will live here... you can stay with us until you build your own house."
As she said this, she blushed faintly again.
In times of hunger, Hisana had neither the time nor the inclination to pay attention to such things, but now that she was fed, she began to notice that Yeruashi was impeccably handsome and irresistible.
It was only fair...
It was perfectly reasonable and just to allow Yeruashi to stay with her for a few days as payment for the food...
Yeruashi couldn't help but smile. 'It wouldn't be so bad to spend a few days living as a completely ordinary soul,' he thought. This would allow him to quietly check the Soul Society for any deviations from the original history, as the presence of five percent of his power surely had some impact.
"Thank you."
"...don't mention it. You helped me as well."
Hisana blushed again and continued her stories about the Soul Society, while also sharing a bit about her past. She had died along with her younger sister in an accident, after which they ended up here. They hadn't been able to find their grandparents, who had died not long before them, because Rukongai was simply too vast.
Since it was so difficult to track down relatives from the living world in the immense Rukongai, souls most often discarded their past lives and formed new families once they accepted their reality.
"I'm very sorry to hear that."
Yeruashi comforted Hisana as she shared her sad story.
Hisana shook her head. "It's alright..."
She was certainly sorry that she and her sister had died at such a young age, but judging by Yeruashi and Lilith's appearance, they had likely arrived in the Soul Society under very similar circumstances.
In truth, Hisana was very curious about Yeruashi's story, but she didn't want to push, seeing that Yeruashi himself wasn't eager to start talking. It was very impolite to ask about the circumstances of someone's death if they didn't bring it up themselves.
"It is time to rest."
Hisana calmed the crying Rukia and looked at the sky through the pathetic excuse for a window before turning to Yeruashi.
"Alright."
Yeruashi nodded and snapped his fingers as he watched Hisana lie down on the dilapidated bed.
With a snap of his fingers, a soft white glow entered Hisana's body, and she immediately fell into a peaceful sleep along with Rukia.
Lilith, who had been silently listening to Hisana's story the entire time, turned to Yeruashi. "Father, are you going to see Zero?"
"Zero is no more."
Yeruashi sighed and shook his head negatively.
If Zero possessed a full consciousness, he would have certainly felt the earlier disturbance and appeared to greet him, but that had not happened.
If any consciousness remained in Zero, it was only fragments that could not even be called a complete personality. It was more like a lingering shadow of will and spirit, like a candle flame flickering in the wind.
Yeruashi couldn't help but sigh at the thought.
Even the consciousness of a being like Zero, who originally possessed several times more power than Yeruashi himself, had been crushed by the merciless flow of time over a million years.
Yeruashi couldn't help but think that he would have likely met the same fate by now if he didn't possess the ability to jump through time and had stayed to rule the created world alongside Zero.
Power can exist eternally without much trouble.
Whether it was the Soul King or Yeruashi himself, their power was relatively eternal. With their strength, they could easily maintain the flame of life for millions or even hundreds of millions of years, like the countless stars shining in the vastness of space for eons.
But over such a long span of time, it was almost impossible to preserve one's consciousness and personality.
Speaking of which.
There should be legends about him in the Soul Society, unless Zero had decided to hide his existence.
'The creator has returned after a million years.'
Yeruashi couldn't help but smile at the thought. 'Soul Society...'
'Your creator has returned.'
He decided to rest and enjoy a measured life, as the 'road' during this time had been far too long and exhausting.
...
Dawn.
The morning sunbeams illuminated the young girl's face, peeking through the cracks in the walls of the dilapidated shack.
Soon, Rukia's cry rang out, waking Hisana.
Hisana immediately rose from the bed and hurried to soothe her younger sister, while simultaneously recalling the events of yesterday. She soon calmed Rukia and looked around, but she could find neither Yeruashi nor Lilith.
After a while, Hisana stepped outside with Rukia in her arms. Stepping out of the ramshackle hut, she immediately froze in a daze because right in front of her modest home, a fairly large and very neat-looking house had appeared out of nowhere.
"This is..."
As Hisana's jaw dropped, wondering how she could have missed something so massive, the door of the house opposite hers opened.
Yeruashi stepped out of the open door and offered Hisana a gentle smile. "Good morning."
"Good... good morning..."
Hisana replied dazedly, then instinctively asked, "Mr. Yeruashi, this..."
Yeruashi stretched lazily under the morning sun. "When you mentioned building a house last night, I decided not to delay and got up early. I just finished it..."
"In just one night?!"
Hisana exclaimed in shock.
In the Soul Society, it was much easier to find land and build a house than in the living world; plus, a soul usually possessed a bit more strength and endurance than a human body did in life. But to build such a house in just one night...
Mr. Yeruashi was just too capable!
"Something like that," Yeruashi replied with a smile. "How about some morning tea? I just asked Lilith to prepare it..."
"Morning tea?!!"
Hisana was beginning to lose her grip on reality.
Yeruashi nodded. "While building the house, I thought it would be a good idea to dig a well, and then I found some tea and other ingredients while taking a walk."
Hisana said nothing, her mind blank.
A short while later.
Hisana sat in a spacious, clean room with a cup of hot tea.
She took a sip and lowered her head, looking at her reflection on the surface of the tea, then held the cup to the mouth of Rukia, who was cradled in her arms.
Rukia finished the tea and smiled contentedly.
"You're giving the baby tea?"
Yeruashi found the scene quite amusing.
Hisana said bashfully, "A soul can exist normally as long as there is at least a small amount of water, but in such conditions, children's growth slows down significantly..."
After these words, Hisana fell silent for a moment, then stood up and bowed deeply to Yeruashi. "Mr. Yeruashi... please, let us stay here... I promise we won't be a burden..."
Finding a water source could completely change the lives of several souls. It should be more than enough to sustain a full life not only for Yeruashi and Lilith but for her and Rukia as well...
Yeruashi smiled and shook his head. "Do you really think I would drive you and your sister away after you looked after me yesterday?"
"Thank you..."
Hisana first bowed politely, then raised her head and looked at Yeruashi. "This... this is completely different."
Yesterday, she had felt guilty about the food; plus, Yeruashi had turned out to be so handsome and kind...
This was entirely incomparable to their survival being dependent on the water Yeruashi had found.
"You can consider this place your home."
Yeruashi smiled and headed for the exit. "I'm going to take a look around the district, so you two make yourselves comfortable here."
"Alright... please be careful. Do not go into the remote or desolate areas..."
Hisana stood up with Rukia in her arms and spoke with concern, watching Yeruashi as he walked away.
Yeruashi turned his head and waved his hand before leaving the house.