[AKIHABARA | CROWDED STREET | LUNCH HOUR | SORA & THE SOUL KING — A TOURIST FROM HEAVEN]
It was loud.
It was chaotic.
It was heaven on Earth for nerds.
And it was a mistake.
"Are you sure this is safe?" the Soul King asked, gazing up at the flashing signs, swarms of teenagers, and a life-sized statue of a Gundam holding a body pillow.
Sora, wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and a fanny pack labeled "QUINCY DRIP", grinned ear to ear. "No. Not at all. But you're immortal and I'm irresponsible, so let's vibe."
The Soul King, dressed in a sharp white suit and slippers like some holy real estate agent, followed silently, though every step he took made nearby people instinctively move aside. That "divine pressure" really did hit different.
First stop: VENDING MACHINE.
A harmless enough start.
"Insert coin here," the Soul King murmured, observing the machine like it was some primitive golem.
He did as instructed. The soda rattled, wheezed... and got stuck.
A beat passed.
"...It did not dispense," he said, frowning slightly.
Sora, chewing on taiyaki like a degenerate with no regard for social norms, blinked. "Oh yeah. That happens sometimes. Just smack it on the side."
The Soul King stared at him.
Then he turned to the machine.
And smacked it.
Reality shivered.
The vending machine screamed in twelve different ghost languages, spat out seven drinks, coughed up a TV remote, and dematerialized into Reishi atoms.
Sora froze. Did he just witness this shit for real? Honestly, he was shocked. The fuck? Was the Soul King really that powerful? Here he thought the guy might be a bit nerfed, but really...
Sure, if they fought now, even if Sora had more Reiryoku, he would lose, since the man had a lot more experience and so on. Though he didn't have access to all his powers, he had access to some of them, but they seemed like they'd been sealed away or some shit like that.
Speaking of which, Sora noticed a weird link between the Soul King and some threads, as if some body parts of his just wanted to return to their owners.
"I was gentle," the Soul King said earnestly, holding a melon soda like it owed him an apology.
"You made reality shiver," Sora would say, looking at his dad.
"Ah. Adjustments will be made."
Adjustments were in fact made that day.
Next stop: Maid Café.
Sora thought it would be funny.
Big mistake.
The moment they entered, and the maids said "Welcome home, Master!" with synchronized twirls, the Soul King froze.
He was not built for this level of moe.
He was not used to this at all, yet he kept his calm. He could feel Sora's attempt at trying to catch him lacking.
This boy truly wanted to catch the Soul King lacking—it was his hope even. Plus, he had planned to spend the month teasing the Soul King, spending time with the old man.
Some shit Sora wanted to do. Plus, Yhwach spent like god knows how long with the Soul King, so it was time for Sora to do the same. This was his dad.
Final stop: Arcade.
They walked in. The Soul King's eyes sparkled.
All those lights. All those sounds. All those chaotic human emotions compressed into game cabinets.
He wandered off. Sora let him.
Five minutes later...
The Soul King had mastered DDR, beat the highest score in Taiko Drum Master, and somehow summoned a real spirit from the UFO catcher.
Sora stared. "...Bro. How."
The Soul King shrugged. "I like rhythm."
"And gacha?"
"No. Gacha is evil."
Sora threw up a peace sign. "Finally. We agree on something."
Not like the Soul King had lost 50/50 in a row... as the Soul King looked at Sora, Sora Almighty vanished. Don't question it.
As they exited the arcade—Soul King munching on a crepe like he was experiencing flavor for the first time—Sora exhaled dramatically.
"Well, I guess being god's babysitter isn't the worst thing in the world."
The Soul King looked down at him.
"I have learned much today."
"Yeah? What's the biggest takeaway?"
The Soul King smiled faintly.
"The human world is quite... interesting."
Sora smiled a bit. Well, the old man was having fun. That was good.
That was always good. He was learning.
"Next up we need to watch some anime, for culture purposes," Sora would say with a smile. The Soul King would continue nibbling on his crepe.
"You know what? From now on, I am calling you Papa," Sora gave the man a wide smile, his white teeth shining a bit.
"I do not mind."
Sora grinned.
"Okay, so let's go to the Super Mario area," Sora said, dragging his Papa toward the game station. He wanted to beat the man's highest score, as he—Sora—was the best Super Mario player to ever exist. Even Keitaro could not match his gaming skill.
It shouldn't be that far off, though his ability to view alternate worlds was getting better. So far, it seemed like Aizen was adjusting well to his new world. Sora shall ignore the man's plan to make his own tailed beast—he wasn't hurting nobody. Plus, he had a girlfriend that he actually genuinely loved, so that was progress.
One thing he kinda hated was how similar Aizen's gaze for that woman and Aizen's gaze for his mom was. The mere thought that the man might have felt an ounce of something for his mom, no matter how small, annoyed him.
Annoyed him greatly.
A/N I don't know if you all noticed, Sora calls Ryuken "Dad," Aizen "Father," which is basically how Uryu refers to Ryuken in the original series, and Adyneus "Papa," which is how Gabriel used to call his dad. Spot the difference.