Back in town

(Karen's pov)

That idiot did something stupid again! I warned him. God dammit I warned him. But what does he do? Play safe and follow the Canon so he would get an easy reward?

No!!! Of course, he doesn't. And I don't even want anyone to start arguing about the Butterfly Effect. It's a lie. Kind of. It depends, but that's not the point! With Aizen there, it's a lie because he would adjust his plans so all would be fine and dandy.

Am I being unfair to Ryoto, knowing that he isn't alone there and all his mental problems?

Yes, but I don't care! He lost his arm, and worst of all, he made me worry!

Should I be peeking at how Ryoto does from time to time? Not necessarily. Did I break a few rules? Possibly, but as long as I wasn't caught, I didn't break any rules. That's the law!

Stupid Ryoto doing stupid shit.

Stupid Ryoto being the one of the few people that I can call a friend.

Stupid Ryoto being kind of cute when he is serious.

Stupid Ryoto being nice to me even when I didn't deserve it.

Stupid Ryoto, getting me to care about him...

*Slam*

"Truck-san, I need a favor!

I entered a spacious room that was decorated after a traditional Japanese room, and in the center of it was a low table that was mainly used for tea ceremonies. There was sitting that old hag whole sipping 'elegantly' her tea.

"Oh my." She put down her cup on the table. "I haven't seen you in a long time, and the first thing you say after coming here is asking for a favor? I'm hurt."

I visibly rolled my eyes.

"We both know that's not true. To be hurt by something like that would mean that you care about others' opinions, and we both know that you don't care about much. So can we stop your stupid game, and I'll tell you what I want, and you'll tell me that you'll either do it or what you want from me to do it."

The old hag had the audacity to pout. She thinks that she is cute. Forever 18, my ass!

"Fine, spoil my fun then. What do you want to ask me of? Is it because your little boy toy lost his arm?"

My face went red hearing her comment. "He is not my boy toy!!! And yes, I want you to do something about his arm. And maybe a system. It's outdated at this point and was from the very beginning. I mean, what kind of system allows for accidental tag along."

Truck-san looked like she was thinking about my request. I know that I will regret asking her for help, but she is the only one I know who could possibly do something.

"You know that I can't do anything directly..." Bullshit. "But I may have an idea or two. Since all system functions have been sealed for the duration of the mission, we can give him an unofficial mission after he completes his objective. As for the system... I guess we could update it. I believe he earned it after not having it for over 200 years, but..."

Here it goes.

"Spit it out. What do you want." I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently.

"First, as I said, a small mission. Nothing dangerous, but since it's not an official mission, the rewards won't be as good as they normally should be. In short, there will be evidence that he lost his arm at some point. Nothing I can't do about it." Again, bullshit. "As for the system request..."

She then showed a 'gentle' smile that gave me shivers and reminded me why I don't like her and why she also scares me sometimes.

(Ryoto's pov)

I opened my eyes to see a blue sky. I quickly analyzed my surroundings because of a habit I developed because of my job. Knowing the space around you is essential and the first thing you do during the reconnaissance. It also lowers the chance of a successful enemy ambush.

I was on the rooftop, and I remember this specific rooftop fairly well. The reason for that is that this was the last thing I'd seen before being teleported.

After assessing my situation, I looked at the only other person in proximity. Rin did the same thing as I did and turned towards me at the same time as I did.

"Looks like we are back," I said as I turned my head to look at the town—our hometown.

"It seems so... It just feels so... underwhelming and still doesn't feel real. I'm worried that it may be a dream and that I could wake up at any moment. But for now, I want to keep dreaming." Rin answered as she looked in the same direction as I did.

We didn't need our connection to know that we both felt insanely emotional, so we stayed like that for a few minutes in silence. It was peaceful, but we didn't have a whole day to enjoy ourselves. Then I felt a hand on top of my left, and for the first time since we returned, I realized that I had it back. It wasn't a long time, but it's a bit funny how I completely forgot about it.

"Seems like that man kept his promise." Rin ran her finger over mine as if to reassure herself that it was real.

"He isn't one to lie." Truck-kun seemed to be the most competent higher-level being, which isn't much since the only comparison was Karen and Sophia, which didn't give me a good first impression.

I also checked my newly restored arm. I flexed my muscles here and there to see how they responded and if anything was wrong with it. I stretched it wherever I could as well. Then I took off my jacket and rolled the sleeve on my left arm to see how it looked, and something was different than it used to be. At the place where my arm was gone, and the 'leftovers,' as you will, was a scar going around the whole arm as if showing where the new arm was attached to the old parts.

I feel scammed, but at least it will be covered by my clothes.

"Are you up for some testing?" I made a suggestion with a smirk, and Rin met mine with her own.

"What are your ideas? A Kido, maybe. I was always better at those than you." She answered with some pride in her voice.

"Sure, let's go with something visible but not too destructive. How about Hado #31."

"Shakkahō? Fine by me."

We put our hands and directed them into the air.

""Hado #31, Shakkahō!""

2 red balls of energy flew up in the air and exploded.

"It seems the power didn't change much."

"True, but it felt weird using it. Maybe because we are in our real bodies made of flesh and blood instead of Reishi."

"Maybe, but thinking about it won't help us. Both of us aren't a scientist type. However, I know a doctor who could check us out. Remember our nurse Mikado-sensei?"

"I think you mentioned her once or twice. You said she was an alien, right?"

"Yes, she is apparently the best in the business and deals with many strange anatomy. Not to mention that she is my go-to doctor, and she has already examined me a few times and tried to figure out my blood and my eyes. I think she is a bit obsessed with them, and now she will be even more obsessed. Speaking about the examination, how do I look? Is there anything with my face? Is it the same as it was before?"

At the end of our back and forth, I asked about my appearance, and it wasn't because I was being narcissistic but because I didn't want to worry my family too much. That's why I protected my face from scars and even minor injuries, if possible.

"You look exactly as I remembered you. It reminds me of our time in Rukongai District when we didn't have a lot of possessions, and we just scraped by from one day to the next. How about me? Do you prefer me how I was in Soul Society or how I am now?"

It is a trick question. No matter what I answer, it will be wrong, but the correct answer is hidden, and I can see it.

"It's a stupid question. I like Rin. Be it young Rin, older Rin, or even Milf Rin. I love them all." Beat that, Rin. You won't catch me unprepared! Feeling Rin's emotions, I could tell that she was amused by my answer. She then put her hand on her chin and started looking at my eyes as she moved her head from one side to another.

"I must admit that seeing myself like this is unnerving. To the point that I would blame Urahara for inventing some machine that makes your outside look younger. Also, the ponytail outside of battle is a novel experience. It has been a long time since I did that, after all. I understand why I had this hairstyle back then. It was so my hair wouldn't get in the way during a fight, but having it on the whole time is unnecessary. Not to mention that it only showed how unskilled I was and was not prepared to fight in any and all situations. If I was ever ambushed without my ponytail, I would be in big trouble."

I realized that she was using my eyes like a mirror by looking at herself through my vision.

"But didn't you put your hair into a ponytail during our fight with Aizen?" I questioned.

"I could fight equally as well without it, but it just helps me set my mind into the right mode if you will. Also, it shows that I'm not playing around."

Fair enough.

Now that our conversation has ended, I have decided to do something I haven't done in a long time and start talking with an old friend.

'Karen, are you there?'

...

...

...

But there was no answer, not from Karen, anyway.

__________

PING

SYSTEM UPDATE: In progress...

INFORMATION NOTICE

System version 0.2 is currently being updated. During the update, the user won't get any missions, but all other functions work as usual. All the items in the inventory currently not in use can be retrieved whenever the user wishes to.

As compensation for the lack of mission in the unspecified future, you'll receive: Random Devil Fruit (no seawater weakness), 10 rolls on the item wheel, control over the intensity of Jormungandr's blood, and 100 000 SP.

We are sorry for all the inconvenience, and we hope to hear from you again in the future.

__________

Huh... So that happened. It's a bit sad not to be able to hear from her again after such a long time, but I'll be able to soon enough. This depends on how long this update takes, of course.

The better question is if I should get all these rewards now or later, but after a short thinking session, I decided to get them now. You never know when you will need them, and I would rather have some additional abilities and not need them than the opposite. I've got 1 ability upgrade, so I'll save it for last. Then, I first decided to use a gacha ticket. It was a ticket with a powerful ability, according to the description, and to be honest, I'm excited. Getting stronger always is, and when progress is sudden, and you feel that rush of power, it is incredible.

The ticket showed inside my mind, glowing brightly to the point of blinding me and showing a wheel that started spinning almost immediately. It went over many different abilities, all of which were powerful, and finally stopped at Vector Manipulation.

This ability feels like it was made for me. It would normally be unusable by an ordinary person because of all the calculations needed for it to work, but thanks to my eyes, which allow me to see even the smallest of details and Prediction Calculation, it will fit right in with my other abilities. I'm satisfied with it, as its potential is immense.

Now, let's go with the 10 rolls of items. Again, a wheel appeared, and I won some items in quick succession. Some were more useful than others, but the winner of this lottery was a manual. However, it wasn't an ordinary manual but a Total Concentration Breathing manual. I think I've heard about it from somewhere, but after reading the description of the item, I understood the gist of it. It will allow me to be stronger and faster, have more stamina, as well as allowing me to create a breathing style.

I'm strong now but oh boy, will I get stronger.

Now, into the devil fruit. Having no seawater weakness is nice, but it will still be random. I know the saying that there are no bad devil fruits, only bad users, but there are still problems with compatibility.

Once again, a wheel. I'm starting to see a pattern here, but all the badmouthing that I could start thinking stopped when I saw what devil fruit it had stopped.

Cat Cat Fruit, Model: Byakko.

This was incredible... just incredible. Cat Cat Fruit, Model: Byakko is a Mythical Zoan. I'm not sure what other abilities it may have other than being able to transform into a white tiger and its hybrid form since I'm not well-versed in Byakko lore. I guess I'll figure them out in time and read some books and some sites on the Internet. Not everything will apply, but it will give me some ideas.

Not wanting to wait any longer, I took the fruit out of inventory, causing Rin to raise an eyebrow at a strange fruit appearing seemingly out of thin air.

The devil fruit was black and white and shaped like a cat's head. It didn't look appetizing at all, but from what I remember, it tasted just as good as it looked.

I bit into the fruit, and I almost grimaced and spit out the piece of fruit I attempted to eat, but I didn't allow myself to waste any food, no matter how much it made me want to kill my taste buds. No matter how short time, living in poverty tends to teach you that lesson. That's why I finished the whole fruit, even though only one bite would give me the powers.

Immediately, I felt the power and instincts to transform myself.

"So... are you going to share what you have just eaten? From the look on your face, I assume that it wasn't tasty, and since you seem satisfied, it wasn't for its taste."

I couldn't hide a lot from Rin, even if I wanted to, but I didn't want to. Thankfully, it was better to show what it did than to tell. With some effort, as it was my first time, I made a pair of white tiger ears with black stripes appear on top of my head. I instantly noticed that my hearing got better.

"So the thing you ate allowed you to grow cat ears on top of your head?"

I put my tiger ears back.

"Tiger ears, to be exact. But that's not the only thing I can do. I can at least turn into a real white tiger."

"It looks cute on you, but I think fox ears would match you better."

She didn't even ask where I got it. It wasn't important to her, and if it was something she should know, she knew I would tell her. That's the trust we have with each other.

We returned to our comfortable silence, and I had the last thing to do: use the ability upgrade. After (you guessed it) another wheel spin, it stopped on Prediction Calculation.

__________

Prediction Calculation - 40 minutes a day, reset at midnight.

The ability stays mostly the same, although it doesn't cause a headache in the case of overusing and is faster than before. The time limit is doubled from the earlier 20 minutes per day.

__________

It could be worse, but I'm completely satisfied with all the things I have received.

The last thing I had to do was to check my pockets. Just like I put it away in my pocket before, although they were different clothes at that point in time,

I took out Hogyoku. I didn't have any plans with it, but it's a powerful wish-granting rock. I don't necessarily want to fuse with it, and I don't even know if I could since it's not a complete Hogyoku. Maybe I should give it to someone—Mikado or Lala. They would use it, maybe wisely. I put it back in my pocket.

Then I noticed that I had a necklace sitting around my neck and after checking on it it was Isamu's Quincy necklace. It thankfully got here together with me.

We have been sitting on the roof for some time now, and I don't remember how long I was up there before we were sent to Bleach World. I think we should start getting up and readying ourselves for classes, but a familiar and cheerful voice interrupted us.

"Ryoto!!!"

---

END

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