Toshio's Perspective
Reality settled in as I surfaced from Jinzen, still seated on my yoga mat. Kuroka was curled on my lap as usual, her purr vibrating through my thighs while I stroked behind her ears. My sheathed katana rested across my knees, the warmth from the Sanctuary lingering in my chest and bleeding into the room's quiet.
"Hey Ku-chan," I murmured, thumb tracing the soft line behind her ear. The system pane flickered to life with a thought, glass-black with white text and the faintest ember-red highlights that always reminded me of her.
It was time to dive into the slough of notifications that I've neglected to look at.
{Reiryoku Dominion ranked up! Rank 5→6}
The pane chimed once. Rank 6. About time. Another multiplier—another layer of structure to the flood inside me. I felt the corner of my mouth tug upward as my Reiryoku settled in my core like water finding its proper level.
{Poison Resistance ranked Up! Rank 3→4}
The acid and miasma from the demon came to mind, a memory flashing in my mind when I breathed it in the first time. That was a bad time.
{Physical Damage Nullification ranked up! Rank 2 → 3}
That one made me huff a laugh. Useful, if only so I didn't end every training session looking like I lost a bar fight with a brick wall.
{Quest Complete! Kill Ghom the Demon General
Optional Objectives:
X [Do it alone: Incomplete]
X [Don't take damage: Incomplete]
[Unlock Shikai: Complete!] → Zanjutsu Runestone (Legendary)}
Reward: 7500 XP }
The red X's kind of sucked, but I didn't dwell on it. Don't take damage? Yeah right. But anyway, I tried my best to take him down, then protect everyone. I would scold Rias for charging in when I was still well within my means of defeating Ghom, but it was because of her intervention that I learned Shinjuka's name, so I couldn't be too upset with her.
And damn, that was a lot of XP. But I guess I should have expected that.
{Title Earned! Slayer of Demons: Combat potential is increased by 30% when fighting demons.}
Kuroka's ear flicked. This was just like my Slayer of Strays title. It was unfortunate that I could only have one title equipped at a time.
{Optional Objective complete! Zanjutsu Runestone (Legendary)}
Well, at least the system wasn't stingy when I did hit the mark.
{Level up! 24 → 27}
{Level Up Rewards Unlocked: Zanjutsu Runestone (Rare), Hakuda Runestone (Rare)}
The system had to be giving these based on what stats were the lowest. Not that I was complaining. Though that did leave me to wonder about how the Zanjutsu stat worked.
{Congratulations for unlocking Shikai! After fulfilling certain requirements, chant the activation phrase to transform the user's unreleased Zanpakutō.}
Requirements, huh. I bet that had something to do with emotions.
{Shikai: Shinjūka (Heavy Heartfire): The power of Shinjūka allows the user to fuse sword and skill, amplifying the power of the skill 5 fold. Only one skill can be fused at a time. Reiryoku cost varies depending on the skill fused and used, but is generally much higher than original costs. Base strength, speed, and durability are doubled while using Shikai.}
It was nice that I wasn't in the dark about how the inner mechanics worked. I didn't have to reverse engineer every tiny parameter while experimenting with my power. I could keep my attention on what mattered much more. On her. On us. As well as learning to wield her properly. When I had fused Runic Shunpo, the speed increase was insane. Faster than Ghom could react. Despite that though, he seemed slower than before. I wondered if starving deteriorated his strength.
I slid to the next pane.
{50% Soul Resonance Reached!: It is the space between breath and silence, now burning with memory and name. The reflection once blurred now moves in time with your own—eyes open, mask shattered, voice spoken aloud. Your soul no longer merely stirs. It reaches. What was once buried has emerged, not as a stranger, but as a part long denied. Shinjūka is no longer distant. Her name is etched into your bones, spoken not as a command, but as recognition. Your Shikai blooms from that truth, forged not through mastery, but through surrender of control, of pain, of self. This is not mere power. It is revelation. For the first time, you have glimpsed the shape of who you could become; not the shell you've worn, but the buried soul beneath it. The path ahead is not straight. It coils, scars, and sings. But it is yours. And now, you are walking it together.
{Spiritual Potential Grade has increased! B → B+}
{+5000 Base Reiryoku!}
Fifty percent. I let the number sit with me. Gratitude and quiet pride threaded together; I'd climbed a cliff I couldn't even see a month ago. Considering Shikai unlocked at 50%, it made sense that Bankai would probably unlock at 100%.
I palmed the runestones and crushed them, the light bleeding between my fingers. Kuroka lifted her head lazily, likely wondering what I just did. She can guess.
{Zanjutsu grade increased! B+ → A-}
{Hakuda grade increased! C+ → B-}
The familiar recalibration ripple rolled through me, angles aligning, footwork geometry tightening, hands ready to draw before thought fully formed. It was always an odd feeling.
But this left me curious again.
"System, what does the Zanjutsu stat represent? As it increases, I should know how to wield a sword better, but yet that seems tied to Advanced Swordsmanship," I thought. I would say it aloud, but I didn't need Kuroka asking questions later.
{The Zanjutsu stat represents: growth potential, such as how fast sword skills increase; technique comprehension, such as understanding how a sword style works; and most importantly natural instinct.}
Well that made sense. Instinct would get you only so far, unless you were Ichigo. I could get Zanjutsu to SSS grade but yet a sword style master could still defeat me due to technique alone. I really needed to learn one of those. Shinjuka's crushing revelation came to mind again. Before I got depressed, I moved on.
"Status," I thought.
{Status
Name: Toshio Amano
Title: Zanjutsu Prodigy
Race: Human
Age: 15
Level: 27 (100/2700)
Health: 100/100
Reiryoku: 18,825 → 1,016,550/1,016,550
Physique: S-
Zanjutsu: A-
Hohō: S+
Hakuda: B-
Spiritual Potential: B
Soul Resonance: 50%}
My Reiryoku number bugged me. A metric is useless without context.
"System, can you compare this number to other people?" I didn't get a response. Maybe I needed to be more specific?
"All right… what was Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's reiryoku level?"
{Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto's peak Reiryoku was 15,024,651,025}
I almost sputtered. That number was INSANE. But as the captain commander of the Gotei 13, I suppose it made sense. But it made mine look paltry.
"Let's try Ichigo Kurosaki."
{Ichigo Kurosaki's peak Reiryoku was 108,894,658,250}
I choked on my sudden inhalation of spit. Kuroka seemed annoyed at the sudden disruption to her nap. I knew Ichigo was stronger than Yamamoto, but that much was staggering. But I suppose True Bankai Ichigo Horn of Salvation was even a threat to a god. Let's try to go with something lower.
"Kenpachi Zaraki."
{Kenpachi Zaraki's peak Reiryoku was 19,735,468,150}
That was the wrong direction from Yamamoto.
"Shunsui Kyōraku."
{Shunsui Kyoraku's peak Reiryoku was 8,584,354,850}
"Ulquiorra Cifer."
{Ulquiorra Cifer's peak Reiryoku was 7,894,514,375}
"Come on, these numbers don't even seem attainable. I need a better comparison."
"Nelliel tu Odelschwanck."
{Nelliel tu Odelschwanck's peak Reiryoku was 4,158,648,475}
I rubbed my temple and glanced at my measly million. "All right, who's lower..."
"Riruka Dokugamine."
{Riruka Dokugamine's peak Reiryoku was 5,648,100}
"Getting closer..."
"And… Ganju Shiba."
{Ganju Shiba's peak Reiryoku was 925,600}
I snorted despite myself. "At least I've cleared the 'joke character' tier." Kuroka stirred slightly at my seemingly random statement. If I wasn't stronger than Ganju then I was going to riot. Well, maybe not riot, but I'd be heavily annoyed. Even still, it wasn't even by much. Were Bleach characters stronger than DxD characters?
"Sirzechs Lucifer translated to this metric?" I asked hopeful. The system stayed silent. I sighed.
That made sense. This world didn't grade anything in spirit pressure, it was unique to only me. Here, imagination and construction mattered, like how finely you shaped mana, how brutally you imposed phenomena. Pure Power of Destruction at peak could probably injure or even kill some of those names, Ichigo aside. Even back in the beginning of season 2, when Issei misfired his Dragon Shot, he carved a ravine in a mountain. That's multi–city block power at least. If he kept scaling in later seasons, town level was hardly a stretch.
If I wanted to contend with the players on the board here, I need to reach nuclear tier at least. I had a few ideas how to get there too. But that was going to take time. Thinking about the arbitrary power tier system, I placed Ichigo around Planetary level. Although that was difficult to judge, as he had power to collapse entire realms, just not in destructive power.
But Reiryoku doesn't necessarily equate to power level in this world. That being said, being a human was clearly limiting my potential. But devilhood had its ceilings too. But my soul, our soul, might not. Maybe the key was in there. Maybe the last fraction that Energy Cultivation stubbornly refused to pass at Rank 9 was the hinge. I really hoped I didn't have to do something like a cheesy Chinese Cultivation Novel and "ascend" into the "spiritual realm".
I hoped with my fusion system, it would be cooler than that. It would be cooler than that right?
My system stayed silent.
I moved on.
"Let's check out my skills list now."
{Tab: Base Skills
Perfect Memory (Rank X)
Gamer's Altered Mind (Rank X)
Gamer's Altered Body (Rank X)
Observe (Rank 7)
Cooking (Rank 6)
Exercise (Rank 10: MAX)
Altered Muscle Density (Rank X)
Advanced Swordsmanship (Rank 6)
Combat Instruction (Rank 7)
Energy Sense (Rank 8)
Reiryoku Body Enhancement (Rank 8)
Poison Resistance (Rank 3)
Metal Muscle (Rank X)
Pursuit of the Flash Goddess (Rank 1)
High-Speed Perception (Rank X)
Tab: Magic Spell Skills
{Tier 1 – Create Flame (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Frost (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Sparks (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Water (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Ice (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Earth (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Wind (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Light (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Create Minor Illusion (Rank 10)
{Tier 1 – Flare (Rank 10)
{Tier 2 – Fireball (Rank 10)
{Tier 2 – Icicle Lance (Rank 3)
{Tier 2 – Electric Shock (Rank 2)
{Tier 2 – Water jet (Rank 1)
{Tier 2 – Earth spike (Rank 1)
{Tier 2 – Wind gale (Rank 1)
{Tier 2 – Create Illusion (Rank 2)
{Tier 3 – Acetylene Annihilation (Rank 3)
{Tier 3 – Acetylene Napalm Annihilation (Rank 2)
Tab: Fusion Skills
Agility (Rank 9)
Energy Cultivation (Rank 9)
Reiryoku Dominion (Rank 6)
Physical Damage Nullification (Rank 3)
Runic Shunpo (Rank 8)}
I skimmed, pausing at skills of interest. Reiryoku Dominion finally reached Rank 6. That was another multiplier for my total Reiryoku. Runic Shunpo had hit Rank 8 right before Ghom, which explained how I'd managed to keep up with him. Momentum shift had been integral too.
On the magic side, the trees looked the way they should: almost every Tier 1 had a Tier 2 counterpart now. Most useful at the moment was Tier 2 – Create Illusion (Rank 2); with some finesse, I could disguise Shinjūka on my back or waist. This illusion would be broken if a supernatural person touched it, and it probably wasn't completely invisible to them if I had to guess. Kind of like how I could perceive that barrier on the school gate.
So just in case one of them bumped into it, I had a second illusion underlaid to make it look like a shinai. The last thing I wanted to do was get the police interested with my seemingly illegal action. But now I could carry her everywhere with me, like I should have done from the start.
Speaking of magic, I had some ideas where to go next that I was looking forward to experimenting with.
I pulled up my inventory next. The sword panel had updated. The silhouette of my Shikai stared back at me; a sleek katana with a black-and-silver blade that was a few inches longer than a standard one, whose polished edge carried a faint inner shimmer, like starlight trapped under obsidian. The circular tsuba was a deep crimson, simple and elegant, and the hilt was wrapped in charcoal-black ito over a dark violet underwrapping. Along the blade's length, ethereal flames of crimson, violet, and thin blue wisps clung and drifted like slow-burning ethereal flames. It was beautiful. She, was beautiful. Her form flashed through my mind. It may have lingered for a while.
Then, thinking back to that moment of activation, I wanted to feel it again.
I set my palm on the hilt of my unreleased blade and inhaled. "—"
The command phrase rose to my tongue, but caught there, like a bridge missing its final plank. A small, neutral panel appeared.
{Error: Emotional state insufficient to catalyze release.}
I suppose that made sense, considering. She did say it would be more difficult to use outside of my mindscape. I would have to learn how to channel, and not control, my emotions.
I couldn't help but feel a flicker of intense irritation at my inability to simply feel. But before I squashed that irritation, I let it breathe. I needed to learn how to let things like this flow. The prickling feeling in my gut of severe annoyance caused my knuckles to go white gripping the hilt of my soul.
I took a deep breath.
"That was a novel experience. Don't think I've ever chosen to be annoyed before," I muttered.
Kuroka's ears twitched while she purred under my other hand, her eyes half-lidded, the very picture of contentment. The duality between us was humorous, enough to get me to snort in amusement. I scratched her chin, and her tail curled along my wrist possessively.
"Possessive little thing," I murmured, letting the warmth of her affection ground me. It was strange how natural this felt—sitting here with her, processing the chaos of the day through quiet moments like this.
My phone buzzed against the floor beside me. A text from Rias.
Koneko is stable. The healers say she'll make a full recovery by the end of the week with the help of my demonic power. Thank you for today.
Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by guilt. I should have protected her better. Should have ended Ghom faster, before any of them had to get involved. The unfamiliar spiral of self-recrimination started to wind up. I let myself feel the guilt without drowning in it, acknowledged it, then set it aside. I had to stop just pushing feelings down simply because it was more logical.
"I'm learning," I said to no one in particular. Kuroka's purr intensified, as if she approved.
Her tone was a little off though I realized. It seemed so, to the point. Weird.
Another text came through, this one from Akeno: Sweet dreams, Toshio~ Don't think too hard about today. We're all safe, and that's what matters.
I found myself smiling at her mix of care and teasing. She was right, of course. Everyone was safe. That's all that mattered. That, and that bastard Ghom was dead.
I texted Rias back first: I'm glad she's okay, as well as the rest of you. Thank you for not leaving me out there alone to face it.
Now, I wasn't very happy about their intervention, but it had come from a place of concern and care, so I still couldn't fault her too hard. She didn't respond.
Next, Akeno: Good night Akeno. I'm looking forward to seeing you and the others tomorrow.
She sent a kissy winking emoji back. Emojis. I had never once used them before.
I sighed. I should probably learn. It would probably make texting Akeno more fun at least. I set my phone down and looked at a very comfy looking Kuroka. I noticed my mind wander about our life thus far.
"We've had a strange little life together lately, haven't we?" I said softly. A month of pretend and small mercies, of shared silence and warmth. She had spent more nights here than not, a phantom roommate who refused to pay rent and gave payment in purrs and laziness. I couldn't bring myself to care too much. Her company was extremely pleasant, which surprised me more than it should have.
I underestimated just how much she helped me with the loneliness I didn't even know I felt before.
The sudden, mischievous urge to tease flickered through me, definitely not my usual mode. Maybe Akeno was rubbing off on me. I picked her up in my arms, her not protesting the movement. I put my cheek on top of her head.
"You know," I said in a low voice, "sometimes I wish you were a real person rather than a cat. Then we could just live together, sleep together, eat together, and live happily ever after." My delivery could use some work. I was missing that lilt that Akeno always had.
Kuroka froze, eyes widening, gold rings bright. Then she blinked once, slowly, as if remembering she was supposed to be a cat. I moved my head off of her, looking into her eyes. Hopefully a mischievous glint in my eye translated over to her.
She licked my face.
She answered with a single meow, half sultry, half innocent. A meow no normal cat in the world could have produced.
"Oh? Would you like that then?" I smirked.
She was about to meow again, before she realized she was supposed to be a cat. She tilted her head to the side in mock confusion.
I couldn't help the chuckle. "Yeah. That's what I thought." I scratched gently under her chin. "Let's get to bed. I could use some sleep."
I stood with her in my arms and carried her to the bed, setting Shinjūka within reach on the nightstand. I lay back. Kitty Kat Kuroka flowed onto my bare chest like she'd done it a thousand times, small weight settling over my sternum, chin tucked near my neck. Her warmth soaked into me.
"You're really warm," I said, stroking down her spine. "You should sleep like this from now on."
She answered with a soft, pleased sound that didn't quite qualify as a purr or a word.
My eyes drifted closed, breath syncing to hers, the system panes dimming in the corner of my vision until only the numbers remained like stars far away.
"Who knew teasing people could be this fun. Maybe Akeno is on to something…" I thought as sleep claimed me.