It's Grey Now [Johann/Lilith]

Lilith could only smile at that reaction. She walked over and pat him on the shoulder. “Calm down. Calm down…” she said, shaking her head and then chuckling. “I have no intention of solving it for you. I will just provide the opportunity to redeem yourself. If it happens and you fuck it up, once again, it would be on you.”

Lilith did not solve her “children’s” problems for them, but giving them the chance to fix their own issues would prove they grew up. Besides, if Johann found this young man to be his family, then by extension Nero was her nephew as well. She’d love to meet the young man that was brought into the family by Ida, herself.

“Now, before I meet my nephew… We have some business to talk about,” Lilith said, her smile fading as a more ‘business woman’ demeanor was brought about. In short, she got serious real quick. “Tell me… What the hell is going on in Africa and Brazil? And if you don’t know. Who the hell do I talk to about this shit?”

As Lilith walked over and reassured him that she wasn't intending on just solving the problem, Johann's fingers relaxed on the cane as he took in a deep breath, sitting back down and rubbing his temples. He knew what was at stake -- and that he would only get one chance to try and make things right. He had spent many hours trying to figure out what he wanted to say, and how to say it.

But, he'd figure that out in all due time, or even right at the moment of truth. He had figured that Lilith didn't come purely for a social call, especially not during his working hours. There was a story and a half to tell about Africa, but Brazil was something he, admittedly, was not too versed in.

"I'm not too knowledgeable about what's going on in Brazil. Admittedly, I didn't know there was something going on there. As far as I was aware, there was a settlement of Arrancar that weren't causing much trouble. I would assume you'd have to talk with someone from the Todgestalten."

He wasn't too certain on that, but, it was better than nothing, and frankly, their line of work would allow for an easier time investigating such matters.

"As for Africa...the now former nation of Vastime has collapsed into a crater. It's size is unprecedented, and, for quite some time, there were colossal Hollows coming from it. I believe in Japan, creatures of that size are termed as 'kaiju'. As far as I'm aware, they've been cleaned up around the hole, save for...one, one that I fought and couldn't finish off, so...I had to retreat and let it get away."

Even now after his recovery, Johann cursed himself at his own inadequacy. The assault at midnight, and then the second fight at the crater, both ending in failure. Yet, he had been so confident in himself when he was planning to return. Perhaps it was just another moment of life humbling him even further, to take away what little pride he had left.

Excluding the fucker that got away, most of what Johann told Lilith was information she got through her own contacts. She had hoped the Vandenreich were aware of something more, something deeper. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something bigger was happening behind the scenes. She just didn’t know what. Were these “kaiju” experiments of sorts? Why Vastime? It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Did you hold back in your battle, Johann?” Lilith asked, her tone low as her one eye focused strongly on Johann. That was a certain part of Lilith, the drill sergeant part, that was staring at him. It was the part that trained most of his family for generations, even him at his younger age. Not many really liked that Lilith...