As Yuko's words fell, Ichibe Hyosube looked straight at her. They stared at each other, and the atmosphere turned strange. Even space seemed to stop flowing, leaving only the tick of the clock on the wall.
Yuko had never given much thought to the Soul King's supposed Almighty. She had assumed that even if he could see certain things in his current state, he could do nothing about them.
But this was different. The Soul King knew about the Quincy, knew about Aizen, and even knew about her, yet had let them act.
No. Their actions were unfolding exactly as the Soul King had foreseen.
Hers, Aizen's, and Yhwach's alike.
If she told Old Man Yama about Yhwach, she would only obstruct the future the Soul King wanted.
Yuko did not know whether that was good or bad for them.
But judging by the monk before her, she did not seem to have the strength to settle this by force.
The atmosphere in the Coffee Shop sank to rock bottom.
Tap, tap...
Footsteps came from the stairwell.
"Yuko, what's taking so long?"
Yoshino's voice called from the stairs. Her light footsteps carried her around the corner, where her gaze landed on the mountain-sized back at the counter.
"...Do we have a customer?" Yoshino froze.
A monk? He doesn't look ordinary. He's dressed a lot like a Soul Reaper. Is he a colleague?
Yoshino's arrival broke the strange tension. Yuko was the first to look away from Ichibe Hyosube. She turned toward the stairs and spoke evenly.
"Yoshino, go back upstairs."
Yoshino paused. She noticed Yuko's grave expression, glanced at the huge monk for another second, then nodded and retreated upstairs without a word.
Yuko's face changed completely when she got serious. This was more than her usual focus; she looked