Time skip.
After going to his loving wife and spending some much-needed time with her and his daughter, he still trembled, remembering how hard he had to try to put her diaper on.
And how the child would cry at random times, waking him up at 2 a.m. He looked like a goddamn war veteran, drained of life. Fighting a goddamn Adjucha was less tiring than this. Yet, he liked doing it.
It was his daughter. His daughter alone. He loved her.
Hearing his daughter cooing brought a smile to his face. She was his to protect.
He had used his time off. Now, it was time to go back to work.
A few weeks later.
Ryouma was exhausted.
Between missions, sparring, and keeping up with training, the past week had felt like a never-ending grind. Sure, he loved the work, but his body was starting to feel it. The worst part?
He missed his family.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Aiko's tiny fingers gripping his, saw his wife's smile as they lay together on the couch, and then—boom, back to work.
So when Gabriel called him into his office, he braced himself for more work.
Maybe some special mission. Maybe a long-term deployment.
What he didn't expect was his king leaning back in his chair, grinning like a damn fox, and saying—
"Take a year off."
Ryouma blinked. "Huh?" Was his hearing functioning correctly, or had he just misheard the king?
Gabriel's grin widened. "You heard me. You're a strong warrior, and I heard you just became a dad. So congrats—one year off. Full leave. No missions, no stress. Just go be a family man." Gabriel had a smile on his face as he said that.
Did he have a bias toward humans because he used to be one? Yes. Yes, he did.
Plus, Fullbringers were still human. Their lifespans were limited. The thing that separated them from Hollows—apart from the fact that, you know, they had overpowered BS powers—was the fact that they were pretty rare. So he didn't want to overwork them too much.
Alongside the Nephilim, he had gotten a lot of strong Shinigami corpses from that weird noble family, along with Soul Society wanting to find out about this Hollow Empire of his.
Killed plenty of Shinigami. More like let his Sin handle the light work.
And since Shinigami were like the balancers or, like, police officers, all of the Nephilim he had made—apart from Lucius—joined the defense corps, or whatever he would call it in the future. TL;DR, they were the police of the city. They would patrol it, change shifts, protect it from intruders, and so on. The weakest of them was like Third Seat level, while the strongest was about high Lower Sin level—so, like, Captain level.
The Sin were getting overpowered due to Gabriel's god-like ability.
Anyway, back to him being a benevolent king—or how the Quincy thought Yhwach was.
Gabriel was just giving him a year off? Just like that?
His mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. "...Wait. What?"
Gabriel laughed. "Damn, you really didn't see that coming, huh?" He didn't even put on the king persona; he was acting more like a friend.
Ryouma shook his head slowly. "I... I thought you were calling me in for another mission." That would be the obvious reason, yet it wasn't the reason.
"Nah, man." Gabriel leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Look, you work your ass off. And I get it—duty, loyalty, all that crap. But you just had a kid. I may be a Hollow, but even I know that's some serious shit. Your kid needs you, your wife needs you, and I'm not about to rob you of that time." Gabriel had a gentle smile on his face. He wasn't about to rob this man of his family time.
Ryouma felt his chest tighten.
This... was too much.
He had expected hardship, expected to keep grinding, keep pushing, keep sacrificing.
But this?
Tears pricked at his eyes. His vision blurred. His throat closed up.
Gabriel waved a hand. "Whoa, whoa, don't cry. You're making it weird." He expected the man to be grateful, but to cry? This was getting awkward.
Ryouma sniffed. "I—this is just—this is too much, man. Too generous." He was expecting so much.
Gabriel rolled his eyes but smiled. "Dude, relax. It's just a year. That's nothing to me. Besides, your work? Already handled. Your assistant's got it covered. And when you get back, I'll have a brand-new training area ready to whip you back into shape." The second he heard the man's wife was pregnant, he had begun preparing just for this moment.
Ryouma wiped at his face, laughing weakly. "I... I don't even know how to thank you for this." He was left speechless.
Gabriel leaned back, smirking. "Easy. Go have fun." Gabriel gave the man a soft smile.
And just like that, his world changed.
A few hours later – Back home.
Ryouma practically kicked the door open, grinning like a man who had just won the damn lottery.
His wife turned from the kitchen, startled. "Ryouma? What—?"
He strode in, swept her up in his arms, and spun her around.
"ONE YEAR! I GET A WHOLE YEAR OFF!"
She gasped. "What?! Are you serious?!"
"Dead serious!" He set her down, hands on her waist. "No missions, no work—just me, you, and Aiko. For a whole damn year."
For a second, she just stared at him.
Then—
She tackled him.
They crashed onto the couch in a mess of laughter, arms wrapped around each other, her face buried in his chest.
"Oh my god, Ryouma, that's amazing!" she gushed. "A whole year? I—this is—this is the best news ever!"
Aiko, still in her crib, let out a tiny noise, as if protesting their excitement. She did not want to see her parents go at it... again. She wanted to be their only child for a while... no siblings to take attention away from her.
Ryouma laughed, rolling onto his side to scoop her up. "Hear that, Aiko? You're stuck with me now. No running away from your old man!"
The baby, oblivious, made a tiny happy gurgling noise.
His wife watched them, eyes shimmering. "I can't believe this. I thought we'd have to wait months before you could come back again."
Ryouma kissed Aiko's forehead, then looked at his wife. "Me too. But Gabriel..." He shook his head. "He just gave it to me. No strings attached. Just told me to go be with my family."
His wife sighed dreamily. "I think I love your boss."
Ryouma snorted. "Get in line."
And just like that, the goal for giving the man the vacation was done.
She smacked his arm, but they were both laughing.
And for the first time in a long time—
Ryouma felt whole.
He wasn't just a warrior.
He wasn't just a fighter.
He was a husband. A father. A man with a home.
And now?
He had all the time in the world to enjoy it.
A/N There is no reason, why he is getting so much attention, ignore it.