Author's Note: Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I ended up taking a trip to New Mexico to visit family there and was therefore unable to write or upload anything for a while. But now I'm back, and right in time for Christmas! So enjoy this holiday present from yours truly!

Also, I've put up SI!Rick's character sheet, skill list, and inventory up on my profile so's I ain't gotta put it in the actual story and muck it up. So if you want a reference or are simply curious, it's there if you need it.

Disclaimer and Warning still apply from the first chapter.

Chapter 4: Just Another Brick in the Wall

It's about twenty minutes later that I notice a strange presence nearby. Urahara and I have been trying various methods of taping Soul Stones together in his basement but so far nothing has stuck (I know, I'm terrible). I sent him away about ten minutes ago with a wad of cash, telling him to get a bunch of arts and crafts supplies, but I suspect he delegated the task to poor Ururu or Jinta in lieu of conducting more experiments on the other potions I'd handed off to him (he'd blown through the other bottles in five hours from what Tessai told me).

My Danger Sense isn't exactly letting out a warning so much as a tickle at the back of my neck, but it never hurts to be aware of one's surroundings. I straighten from my hunched position over the flat stone table I made and look around, but I'm only confronted with the regular view of the wasteland.

"Huh." After another brief scan, I set back to work, using a small drill fashioned from stone to bore a hole through a few teeth to see if I can make some sort of necklace or bracelet that might give some extra power or add a cool effect to my attacks. Still, that itch on my neck won't go away and I find myself glancing around suspiciously every now and again. By the time I've finished drilling through about forty teeth I'm at my wits' end with paranoia and finally jump up.

"Whoever's there, show yourself!" I call out. I don't know what I'm expecting, but having a black cat jump down off my head (where it had previously gone unnoticed somehow) is definitely not it.

I stare blankly down at the animal form of Lv ?: Shihoin Yoruichi, then at her tail, and smack myself in the forehead. It hadn't been Danger Sense that was figuratively tickling the back of my neck, it was the tail of a cat literally flicking across it.

"Oh my God, I'm such an idiot," I mutter to myself, settling back into a cross-legged position on the stone seat. I reach into my Inventory and pull out a sushi bento I picked up along the way at a store and offer it to the feline, who has yet to make a move or indicate that she's anything more than an ordinary house cat.

"Here ya go, kitty-kitty," I do my best not to fall into pet-speak, breaking apart the roll so the fish inside is easier to get to. I used to do this with my own cat Pumelo, who was a fiend for spicy tuna. "You've got some serious skills for me to not notice you sitting on my head the whole time. Well, maybe I'm just terrible at keeping track of my surroundings."

"I'd say it was the second one," Yoruichi says, licking her lips after polishing off the meat with gusto. That baritone voice catches me off-guard even with me expecting it; she's definitely all about that bass, no treble. "Do you have anything to wash that down? Some sake perhaps?"

Clearing my throat and quickly wiping the surprise off my face, I grab my liquor bottle and pour some into the cap. "No sake, but I do have some tequila, if you'd like to try some. I don't usually hang out with talking cats so I wouldn't know your preference."

Yoruichi sniffs the cap, takes a tentative lick, then grabs the cap gently between her teeth an knocks it back like a shot. "I like this drink," she states, slapping the cap back to me. "Another." Shrugging, I pour some more for her, then take a swig myself. Two more each and I get back to work after pulling apart the rest of the sushi roll for her to nibble on. "So, what exactly are you doing? And, if I may be so forward, who are you?"

Blinking, I cock my head to the side. Didn't Urahara tell her about me. "I'm Rick. I just...ah, moved here, I suppose would be the proper term for it. Urahara-san has been kind enough to allow me the use of his basement to work in. He's off getting some supplies right now, but he should be back soon, if he didn't send one of his underlings in his place."

She pads over to the supplies and bats around a Soul Stone lightly. "What are these?" she asks curiously.

"They're Soul Stones," I explain as I pick up one of the shards myself. "According to Urahara-san, they're made out of the remnants of human souls who have passed on naturally to the Afterlife, crystallized and given form by my ability. We're trying to come up with ways to use them."

"An ability, eh?" Yoruichi snickered. "I can see why Kisuke keeps you around, then. Some interesting power that he doesn't quite know what to do with...yes, I understand now. Your name is Rick, then...are you a foreigner?"

Grinning, I stand up and stretch. "In more ways than one," I reply. "Wanna see my powers, Cat? I've only had 'em for three days, but I think it's fairly impressive for that."

She smirks, hopping up onto my shoulder with the grace only cats can achieve. "Very well. Show me what's got Kisuke so interested in you."

I've been meaning to do this anyway, so I figure I might as well show off a bit. I raise my hand and summon an Energy Bolt, but keep it compressed in my hand. Frowning in concentraton, I will it to rotate in place. Slowly, it begins spinning on its axis, growing larger as I pump more power into it.

You have thought of a new skill! Would you like to name it?

"Spiral Bolt," I intone, and confirm when my ability asks for it, then fire it into a nearby boulder. The blast hammers into the stone, digging halfway through it before expending its remaining energy in a bright blast.

"Not bad," Yoruichi yawns, draping herself across my neck. "I've seen better."

Taking that as a challenge, I chuckle. "Alright then. Looks like I'm going to have to get creative." Next, I pull up another Energy Bolt, forcing it to lengthen and slim down until it's the size and shape of a small javelin.

You have thought of a new skill! Would you like to name it?

"Mana Lance," I decide on; to me, lance sounds better than arrow. Before I throw it, though, I make my construct spin, and get another prompt to name a new skill. I smile and say, "Spiral Spirit Spear," just for added alliterative appeal, then send it zipping through the air.

This time, it spears right through the boulder, leaving a hole about three inches wide. Not giving Yoruichi a chance to comment on my latest move, I settle into a horse stance (good for taking dumps), which I've begun associating with my Geomancy first and foremost.

In three precise motions, I've got my dozen dirt daggers (patent pending) floating around me. This seems to intrigue Yoruichi, as she actually moves to my head, pawing the one floating there. "This is new," she finally says.

"Just a little something I came up with," I utter humbly before trying my new trick. I grab two of the kunai and start channeling power into them. They promptly shatter in my grip, leaving me with scraped palms and two handfuls of crumbling rocks.

Yoruichi snorts. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Not exactly," I admit, grabbing two more and gently feeding energy into these ones, much more slowly and in less volume than last time. "Like I said, I've only been doing this stuff for three days; trial and error are my two best friends right now. Can't stop just because a couple rocks blow up on me."

I sense Yoruichi nod in approval, but stay focused on my earth diggers, which are beginning to glow a deep, vibrant green. When they start humming softly, I take aim and throw them into yet another boulder. The daggers sink all the way down to their pommel rings, then promptly explode. For an aspiring rogue, I'm getting worryingly good at loud booms.

You have thought of a new skill! Would you like to name it?

I think for a moment before settling on, "Boom Blade," in keeping with the alliteration theme.

Geomancy has leveled up!
Earth Affinity has leveled up!

"Can you make a platform of earth?" Yoruichi asks, and when I nod, she commands, "Make one in front of you."

Bemused, I follow her order, bringing up a slab of stone about the size of a lunch tray and leave it hovering at chest level. Yoruichi slides onto it, jumping up and down experimentally. It bobs once or twice before I steady the thing, then she sits with her tail curled around her paws.

"You have quite an interesting power," she tells me. "You can pull things out of thin air, you can create and utilize spirit energy, and you have the fascinating ability to manipulate and shape earth and stone. Anything I'm forgetting?"

"Well, you didn't forget, since I haven't shown you," I allow, "but I'm able to level up like a video game character, I know people's names and sometimes their own level relative to mine at a glance, I can gain more in-depth knowledge with a thought, and I can raise my own stats according to my own whims, with a lot of room for growth. Oh, and apparently I can essentially create matter from nothing by using spirit particles to make Instant Dungeons."

Yoruichi blinks at my explanation of my ability. "What is my name?"

"Shihoin Yoruichi," I answer promptly. "I can't tell your level, just like Tessai-san and Urahara-san, since the difference between yours and mine is too large. I've got a hunch that anyone more than three times my level will show up as question marks, so until I'm about level eighty or so you three will always show up as unknowns. Of course, that's just a guess; for all I know you're all level 1000 and it'll take my whole life to get halfway to you guys."

"That's very flattering and informative," Yoruichi states, "and my name is indeed Shihoin Yoruichi. Of course, Kisuke or Tessai could have told you my name. You don't seem to be very surprised to find a talking cat who is, by your estimation, much more than thrice your own level, which is...?"

"Oh, I'm at level seventeen right now, but by the end of the day, I'm aiming for maybe another two. I still need to make a Crafting skill, though..." I trail off, wondering where the hell Geta-Boushi.

"Rick-san, I'm back!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. He hops down, arms laden with bags, but drops them when he spots the black cat. "Hey, Yoruichi, you're here?"

"Figured five months is a long enough vacation," the cat shrugs. "Where'd you find this one?"

"He found me, actually," Urahara smiles happily. "Quite fortuitous for me that an enigma would just jump into my lap like a faithful doggy to stave off my boredom."

"I'm right here," I grunt, eyebrow twitching.

"Now that you've returned we can both play with him," Urahara continues as if he didn't even here me. "But before we do that..." he picks up the dropped purchases and presents them to me. "I used all the money you gave me, so hopefully this will last for a while." Inside are plenty of goodies, and I'm sure we can make at least something out of this stuff.

Pulling out a leather thong, I thread it through about ten of the prepped teeth before cutting and tying it together.

Making things is easy! Through a special action, a new skill, "Crafting", has been created!

You have learned the recipe for "Zombie-Tooth Necklace"!

I grin and give Urahara a thumbs-up. "Looks like it worked," I say, bending a stool into existence for my assistant as I sit back down on my own.

"You know," Urahara says idly as he starts messing around with his own pile of bones and shiny rocks, "I was wondering...since your Mana Points work almost exactly like reishi, and Soul Stones are made up of discarded reishi, would your Mana Drain would work on the Soul Stones?"

I stop what I'm doing and gape at him like a big fool. Why the hell didn't I think of that? I pinch a Soul Stone between my thumb and forefinger, thinking Mana Drain, and the orange glow that lets me know it's working envelops the pink sliver. After about thirty seconds the Soul Stone shatters and dissolves into nothing, but that doesn't matter to me in the slightest.

Sucking the Soul Stone dry replenishes twenty MP, and while it isn't much, just the fact that it's possible is an incredible discovery. Next thing I try it on is a Soul Gem, which takes nearly a minute and a half to crumble and fade and gives me an even one hundred MP, along with a level to Mana Drain.

Now that I know the stones can be affected by my skills, I decide to try something else. These things are technically stones, so I impose my will upon them with Geomancy, thinking of the general shape of the Dirt Daggers I've been using as throwing fodder. It takes ten Soul Stones to make one normal sized throwing knife, and I quickly end up using the rest of my stones. I try using the Soul Gems as well, but they turn out to be resistant to my efforts. I chalk it up to Geomancy not being at a high enough level for me to manipulate any earth matter besides stone and dirt. Soon, though...

The end result is ten shimmering pink kunai, and curiously enough two levels in Crafting and a recipe for "Soul Slivers".

[Soul Slivers (Rank: Normal)/Type: Dagger]
A blade created from Soul Stones and shaped like a kunai. Particularly good at channeling spirit energy, useful as a throwing knife.
Req. DEX: 15
+3 to Knife Throw Skill, +5% MP recharge

The Dirt Daggers I've been using usually just disappear along with the enemy I use them to kill, but these are actually items with their own effects and everything. Resolving to farm for Soul Stones like crazy tomorrow, I end up handing one over to Urahara.

"Keep it," I tell him. "I'm going to be making a ton of these soon enough, so there'll be no shortage on my end. The Gamer calls them Soul Slivers." I might just be wasting all the stuff I give to him, but there's always the off-chance that Urahara might give me some more awesome ways to utilize my ability.

He gratefully accepts it, holding it up so the light filters through its translucent blade and casts a carnation glow across his face. "Well, you won't hear me complaining about receiving such fine gifts." Pocketing the knife, he turns back to me. "So what will you be doing tonight?"

"I'm gonna exercise to pick up some more stat points for a few hours, then take on the Legion Zombie again. Maybe three times today, so I can farm some more Soul Gems and money."

"Hold on," Yoruichi interjects. "Your ability creates money for you?"

I shoot her a superior smirk and a thumbs-up. "I told you that my ability makes things out of nothing. I've got to pay the bills somehow, now that I have an apartment of my own to maintain."

Yoruichi gives Urahara a questioning look, and he shrugs with a gesture that I think means, "I'll tell you later."

"That certainly is convenient," the cat admits. "You said you were going to exercise."

Nodding, I stand up, scooping my leftover crafting materials into Inventory and make my training weights, compressing more earth into them for a heftier weight, adding a stone vest just to be safe.

Then I show them how I did my stats training the day before, flip-juggle-jogging around the basement. Two minutes in a brainwave hits me, and after a bit of experimentation, I set my Louis L'Amour short story anthology onto a floating desk of stone that has a rocky hand at the top. Then, making sure my concentration is capable of handling being split in so many directions, I start reading, using the stone hand to turn the pages with my flesh-and-blood hands busy juggling and flipping ten coins.

"Quite creative," Urahara comments, hiding his face behind his fan. I just know he's hiding a shit-eating grin back there.

"I know I look like an idiot," I confide, "but if it's stupid and it works, then it ain't stupid."

"If we add a unicycle, you could become a street performer," Urahara chuckles lightly.

After three hours, I've gained six points in each of my stats except INT (which got five) and WIS, which I can't do anything to reliably raise except think about stuff.

Shaking off the mental cobwebs, I put away the coins and book, allow the training weights and reading table to fall away, create a zombie dungeon, and go straight-up Tallahassee on the poor undead fuckers.

By the time the fifth Legion Zombie of the night bites the dust, I've gained another two levels, and just about all of my skills have gone up by at least five levels. I didn't use Mana Lance very much, since Spiral Spirit Spear does quite a bit more damage with only a tiny bit more mana being used, and my non-combat passive skills didn't get much of a work-out, either.

At the end of the night, I use Energy Sprint to hurry home with a black cat slung across my shoulders like a furry shawl. I was surprised at first that Yoruichi wanted to tag along, but I suppose it must be a hold-over from her time as Onmitsukido captain, to have a thorough mental dossier of everyone who interacts with her little family in exile.

It's only ten by the time we get back, so I cook up some grilled sea bass and some Mexican rice for a late dinner.

"So you really don't know how you got here, then," Yoruichi asks between bites of fish.

"Not a clue," I answer, idly flipping the page of one of my new textbooks (I'd forgotten how much of a pain homework was). "One minute I'm getting plastered by an eighteen-wheeler, next minute I'm blinking stupidly in the park."

"Did you have any family?" is her next question.

I close the book and push the work away, setting up an empty six-by-six ID around my table before pulling out my half-empty tequila bottle and my pouch. I've been forcibly stopping myself from thinking about those I've left behind, but having someone ask so bluntly brings it all to the forefront of my mind.

One thing to know about me is that I don't exactly cope well with misery; I tend to bottle up whatever emotions I can't work through. Gamer's Mind has been helping with that, but I suppose it can't be good for my psyche if I just shove my past life to the wayside, and there's nothing better to help with internal wounds than drinking alcohol and some ganja.

I bring a tumbler and a saucer out and pour us both some tequila, then pack a bowl in my blown-glass pipe, thoroughly glad that my illusion barriers hide scent (my apartment, and Japan in general, is most emphatically not 420 friendly).

I take a quick rip-and-sip, (almost spitting out the tequila when I choke on my first hit in three days), and then begin telling Yoruichi about my family. It's a fairly odd story, since I was raised by my great-grandparents as a youngster before they passed, then lived with my grandparents and younger sisters (with a younger brother adopted out and another living with his grandparents in another state). When I was twenty, I met my father and his wife for the first time with my half-sisters and step-siblings, along with all the uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents on that side of the family. Not to mention my small, close-knit circle of friends that I consider family themselves.

I end up smoking the rest of my weed regaling my new drinking buddy with stories of my loved ones, and we finish off the rest of the tequila before midnight. By then, I'm feeling the pleasant combination of cannabinoids and alcohol wreaking their havoc on my brain, and look down at the lone seed on the table.

"Is that from the stuff you were smoking?" Yoruichi asks, gazing at the pod.

"Yep," I answer, pulling out a couple Soul Gems. The final ability Geomancy gave me before maxing out was called Quicksand, which allows me to change one form of earth into another. It sounds like it wouldn't be very useful, but my mind had come up with a dozen ways to utilize it in battle easily enough.

But after finding the seed, I could only think of one thing. I bring out a big bowl, then use Enhanced Quicksand to crush the Soul Gems into rich, crumbly, pink-tinged dirt. Both of the Gems manage to fill up the bowl almost completely, and I push the seed about three inches down into the spirit soil.

"What's that going to do?" Yoruichi inquires. She gives me a skeptical look, which is kind of funny on a feline face.

"Hell if I know," I say honestly. "But it seems like it might do something cool. Hm..." Acting on a sudden urge, I take out one of the health potions and pour it into the bowl. The red liquid is absorbed into the soil remarkably quickly, and the effect is almost too unbelievable for me to comprehend.

The plant sprouts and grows like someone had hit a universal fast-forward button until it's about a foot high and densely branched, with broad leaves and fat little buds. We both gape at the results, and I pat myself on the back for such an ingenious idea (even if I'm ninety percent sure I've read something like this in a fanfiction before).

I water the plant with another health potion, then use two mana potions just to be on the safe side, and by the time I'm done, the plant is easily four feet tall and close to two feet wide with buds the size of ping-pong balls weighing the branches down, shot with deep violet streaks. I have to force myself not to jump up and down, yelling, "YATTA!", because that would just be gratuitous by this point.

One of the reasons I hadn't smoked since I got to this new dimension was that I didn't have a good connect to supply me with my favorite plant, but now that I can grow my own in minutes, I don't think I'll have to worry about running out anytime soon.

Wondering how I'm going to prep all this weed for consumption without getting into heaps of trouble, I pluck one of the flowers. Immediately, it transforms before my eyes, becoming nothing more than a big nug of perfectly-cured weed. Realizing my jaw fell open, I close my mouth and Observe it.

[Gaea's Gift Kush (Rank: A little special)/Type: Herb]
Grown in soil imbued with spiritual energy and fed with magical restorative potions, this weed is truly the dopest dope you will ever smoke.
+5 WIS, +5 LUK, -5 DEX, -5 INT (Buffs last 1 hr)
+50 HP, +50 MP

Well, don't that beat all? Those buffs are pretty on point, and the regenerative properties are just icing on the cake. I can't believe I've just created a magical strain of weed by following a hunch and an idle whim.

Now all I need to do is cajole Urahara to sell me booze and I'll be golden.

Grinning from ear to ear, I break the ID in the kitchen, set my new pungent houseplant on the desk by my bed, clean up a bit, and settle under the covers. Just before my eyes close, I feel Yoruichi jump up and curl up above my head. Talking with her about my loved ones and the discovery of my new source of marijuana was a good experience. I'll have to thank her in the morning.

Over the next week, I fall into a routine of going to school (mainly to socialize with and befriend the main cast), then to Urahara's to train my skills and experiment in their uses (with some much-appreciated input from the shop's denizens), and finally heading home to unwind and have a few drinks with a cat.

By the time my second Sunday in this world rolls around, getting stronger has become much more difficult. I've not yet surpassed Uryu (who has also been leveling up steadily), but I'm now at level twenty-six, and my stats are hovering around the forty mark, except for DEX and LUK, which are both sitting pretty at forty-nine.

I remember Jee Han gaining an interesting skill from getting his INT up to level fifty, so I'm thinking of raising all of my stats at least that high before I start focusing on one or another exclusively. Plus, I've got nearly a hundred stat points squirreled away so if I absolutely need some points I've got 'em handy.

My skills are coming along nicely, too. Once they hit a certain level, it starts getting a lot harder to level them up, but that's to be expected with diminishing returns and everything. They're still getting pretty hardcore; Energy Sprint alone gives me a two hundred percent increase in my movement speed. It's not on the level of a flash-step, but I'll be damned if it doesn't feel awesome flitting around like a hummingbird on crack.

Another excellent discovery I made is that Geomancy maxes out at level twenty, allowing me the ability to manipulate other earth matter, along with enhanced versions of the previous powers. It also granted me two new skills, True Geomancy and Seismic Sense. While the first isn't much at the moment, with only a single technique (Dust Cloud), I know it'll really show its worth soon enough. Seismic Sense, on the other hand, is one that I'd been waiting to pop up. Being able to sense anyone around me in contact with the ground will be an insanely useful ability, and when combined with Dust Cloud, even airborne foes won't pose as much of a threat.

I've held off on coming up with any new skills, focusing on the ones I have. True Geomancy and Seismic Sense have been the main ones I'm working with. Whenever I take on the zombies, I make sure to close my eyes and use Seismic Sense; it's actually better than my sense of sight in some ways. For one thing, the zombies can't ever sneak up on me, and just using it raises my Earth Affinity mastery. By now, the mana cost for my earth bending skills have been cut in half, which is a definite plus.

At this point, I can take out the Legion Zombie with a few well-placed hits.

I think it's time I bring the Karakura kids into the fold, so to speak. The trick will be how to ease them into it without freaking them out or making them distrust me. I've already built up a friendly rapport with most of them (Uryu is a really anti-social dude, but that's just the pot calling the kettle black and I hate being hypocritical), so asking them to kick it today shouldn't seem too weird.

"Hey, Yoruichi," I say from my spot in front of the stove. "Wanna help me take some teenagers on a bus ride?"

The cat raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Will there be screaming and mayhem involved?"

"More than likely," I admit, putting the finishing touches on the lunches I've prepared.

"Count me in, then," she replies, stretching lazily. "And grill some tilapia for my lunch, would you?"

Shaking my head in amusement, I do as I'm told, thankful that I stocked the fridge the day before. It's a somewhat interesting position I've found myself in, having more money than I know what to do with. Back home, I had most of the modern amenities, but I never usually had a surplus of cash; normally I'd just spend whatever was left on beer and pot like the degenerate I am. Now that I've got my own incredibly amazing plant and a full liquor cabinet (courtesy of Urahara and his copacetic fake ID-making skills), I'm somewhat at a loss for what to do with all the money I've got. I went out and bought furniture, appliances, kitchenware, and a whole wardrobe, yet I've still got over three million yen burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe I should find a charity to give to?

Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I quickly finish preparing Yoruichi's lunch, then drop the picnic in my Inventory and make a few calls. Luckily, everyone is on board with a day of hanging out; well, I say everyone, but Uryu won't be there since I never really got the chance to properly meet him. Mizuiro won't be there either, begging of with the excuse of having a date later on in the afternoon.

When I've finished with the preparations I head to the park and sit down on a bench near a large fountain. Yoruichi settles down next to me and we share a rice ball while we wait.

Eventually, they all show up. Chad comes first, followed by Tatsuki and Orihime, then Keigo, and finally Ichigo.

"So what's the plan?" Ichigo asks, frowning at Yoruichi while Orihime fawns over my alleged 'pet'.

I scratch at my chin (silently mourning my beard and willing my facial hair to grow faster) and say, "Well, first off I think we should head somewhere a little less public. Like over there," I point to the copse of trees I'd used to train up my stats my third day here.

The kids humor me with various shades of compliance, and when we're out of sight of the main path through the park, I face them. "Alright, now this might feel a little odd, so don't panic."

Before anyone can protest, I call up an empty ID.

Keigo doesn't react at all beyond a look of total confusion. Orihime shivers slightly as the edge of the barrier rushes past her. Chad keeps his face stoic, but I can see his muscles tense in surprise. Ichigo and Tatsuki both frown at me; well, Ichigo's frown deepens a little.

"What the hell was that?" the bright-haired teen growls, visibly holding back a shudder.

"That was me making an illusion barrier so no one bothers us," I explain. "Think of it like a pocket dimension." I pull up some chairs for us and sit down in mine; I've gotten pretty good at shaping the earth, in my opinion, and these chairs are fairly intricate. It's only a matter of time and study before I can make a full-on recliner.

Gaping at the constructs, Keigo darts around his own, poking and prodding at the one beside him. Tatsuki jumps away from hers, eyeing it warily. "How'd you do that?" the karate instructor wonders aloud.

"Take a seat and I'll tell you," I say as soothingly as possible. "It's a bit complicated, and I don't understand half of it myself, so you might as well sit down."

Grudgingly, Tatsuki does so, and after seeing that nothing happens to her, the others follow her lead. I breathe an internal sigh of relief, thanking whoever's listening that they haven't made a fuss yet. Hopefully it lasts.

"So..." I trail off, trying to gather my thoughts. "Um, well, when I got here in Karakura Town, something weird happened to me. When I looked at people, I saw their names floating above their heads with a number next to them, and the abilities of an RPG character."

I allow them a moment to process that. Keigo, naturally, is the one who calls bullshit. "Uh, do you expect us to believe that?" he says mockingly. "Can you believe this guy?" He turns to the others for support. Tatsuki looks like one of her eyebrows is trying to meld into her hair, but Orihime has an intrigued expression on her face, and Chad has adopted a 'thinker' pose. Ichigo's scowl has eased up a little, and is inspecting me like he's never seen me before. "Er...guys?"

"Look, I'll prove it to you," I say, and try the same tactic I used to convince Urahara. "Create party: Level-Up Bus. Invite to Level-Up Bus: Kurosaki Ichigo, Arisawa Tatsuki, Inoue Orihime, Sado Yasutora, Asano Keigo."

The looks on their faces when alert boxes appear in front of them is so priceless I pull out my phone and snap a few pictures to commemorate this occasion.

"Now's the part where you press 'Accept'," I prompt lightly. The five of them hold a silent conversation before Chad, surprisingly, bites the bullet and hits the button. I get a notification that he's joined my party, and the others follow suit. A new window that holds information on the Level-Up Bus members opens up. "Now I'm pretty sure you can access your own character window; just say 'Status', and it should work."

A chorus of, "Status," greets my ears, but I instead focus on the party window to see if they've changed since last time I checked. Tatsuki's made the most progress since last time, with an extra level and her highest stats in the mid-forties, but the others' stats are a little different from what I remember as well. Even Keigo's gotten a few extra points in DEX and INT.

"This is...it's...impossible!" Keigo mutters to himself, running a hand through his hair.

"Not impossible," Orihime corrects him, wonder written plainly on her face. "Amazing."

I give her a grateful smile. "I know it's a lot to take in...I thought I was dreaming for the first couple of hours or so. But it's as real as the nose on my face, and it's kind of neat once you get past the weirdness factor."

Ichigo, who's been quiet since I put up the barrier, looks up above each of his friends' heads before resting on mine; apparently if they're partying with me they can see my tag as well. "So you're the highest level of us all right now," he muses. "That must mean you can do other things with this ability, too, right?"

Grinning, I nod; out of all of them, it's only natural that Ichigo's more accustomed to weird shit, and would adjust quickly. "I'm still figuring this stuff out, but I've created a bunch of skills already. I want to see about something first, though. Yoruichi?"

The main difficulty I foresaw when coming up with this idea is that most of the kids couldn't perceive spirits, which would definitely screw with their ability to use their innate power. Tatsuki and Keigo are also at a disadvantage because they never developed powers of their own in the Bleach canon; I think I remember something about Kubo originally having plans to flesh out all of Ichigo's classmates and give them their own skills, but something or other came up...anyway, I know the basic progression of Orihime's and Chad's abilities so I can help them along, but the other two are complete unknowns. Mizuiro will be in the same boat if he ever decides to come along, too.

Regardless, Yoruichi and I talked it over on the way to the park, and she came up with a pretty simple way to kick-start their growth.

"Hey," Keigo began, noticing the tag on Yoruichi. "That cat's level is a question mark..."

Before he finishes, Yoruichi unleashes a devastating amount of spiritual pressure that drives us all to the ground forcefully. I can barely breathe as what feels like an ocean drops down on me. Several blue boxes appear in front of me, but I can't even blink, let alone lift my arm to wave them away.

Just as I'm rethinking the wisdom behind this plan, Yoruichi reigns in her reiatsu, and I (along with the others) inhale deeply, luxuriating in the simple reassurance of being able to move again. I take a look at the notifications and fight the urge to fist-pump.

I see dead people! Through a special action, a new skill, "Spirit Sense", has been created!

Spirit Sense has leveled up!
Spirit Sense has leveled up!
Spirit Sense has leveled up!
Spirit Sense has leveled up!
Spirit Sense has leveled up!

Well, it's not an ideal way to learn a new skill, but whatever gets the job done, right?

The kids are recovering from Yoruichi's, ah, assistance more slowly than I am, but they make it to their feet admirably, eyes wide.

"Your cat just floored all of us without even batting an eyelash," Tatsuki gasps, but I shake my head.

"See, that's where you're wrong," I say, gesturing toward the demon in a cat's body. "Yoruichi's likely ten times older than I am, and definitely isn't my pet. Damn feline probably considers me the pet, come to think of it."

"Servant, actually," Yoruichi intones in that insanely deep voice, and the others' eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. "Now that I have your attention, let's begin. Ri-kun, could you show them how to use their energy? I'm going to take a nap now."

I grimace at the nickname she's saddled me with, but soldier on valiantly. "Sounds like a plan. We'll try not to disturb you."

"That cat just talked," Keigo says in a dull monotone; I think his threshold for crazy has been shattered so much in the past ten minutes or so that his brain broke.

"All cats talk," I tell him, smirking. "That one just happens to speak Japanese. But that's not important. So, now that Yoruichi's overdosed you guys with power, I'm gonna teach you how to use it. The first thing you need to do is concentrate on your hand."

I demonstrate, holding my hand out palm-up. They mimic me and stare at their fingers: Ichigo and Tatsuki just glare at their hands, I can't really tell what Chad's eyes are doing, Keigo's face gains an expression not dissimilar to the one I make when I'm constipated, and Orihime scrunches her nose up and frowns adorably at her hand.

"Now I want you to close your eyes and picture your hand. Nothing else, just your hand." Once they do so, I continue, making sure to keep my voice low and unobtrusive. "Breathe in, and out...in, and out...keep that pattern and hold that mental picture of your hand in your mind."

Keigo fidgets a bit, but otherwise they all remain still, falling into a meditative trance as they breathe and focus. "Okay. Add a little point of light to your mental picture, right above your hand. Concentrate, and try to feel the warmth of the little light as you do so."

Unbelievably, this actually works. Orihime is the first one to manifest energy outside of her body, a spark of light hovering over her palm, but the others manage it as well soon enough.

"That's great," I assure them. "Focus on making that little pinprick bigger, and try shaping it into a ball. Get it as big as you can without tiring yourself out."

Slowly, the energy grows in their hands. Keigo's stops growing first, but it's still about the size of a tennis ball. Chad is next to falter, with something about as big as a grapefruit. Orihime, Ichigo, and Tatsuki all have a sphere roughly cantaloupe-shaped. All of them have beads of sweat on their foreheads from maintaining this exercise, but it's a good gauge on their power levels.

"Alright, now open your eyes."

When they see the shining balls of light they're holding, they all react with no small amount of surprise and lose control of their energy and it dissipates into the air. Still, with as much MP as these guys have, they'll be fine without just that.

"Congratulations," I say with a wide smile. "You've just learned how to harness your energy."

"That felt pretty awesome," Tatsuki admits, clenching and unclenching her hand. "It's like a part of myself I never realized was there just...woke up."

Ichigo nodded in agreement, turning to me. "How did you figure all this out? Did the cat help you?"

"I only met Yoruichi a few days ago," I answer. "Actually, I think it was the same day I met you lot. I sort of make it up as I go along and hope for the best, really. Anyway, now that you've got a basic understanding of how to access your mana...er...spirit energy, let's see if we can manifest some cool powers and stuff."

"...and stuff?" Keigo repeats dubiously. "You really are just winging it, aren't you?"

"Yep," I reply glibly.

"What kind of ability do you have?" Chad speaks up for the first time since he got here.

"Well, I've got a sort of mixed bag," I say. "The skill I've been mainly focusing on is called Geomancy, and lately it's evolved form, True Geomancy." I gesture to the chairs I'd made earlier. "But I have a few other skills as well. Like I said, I'm still figuring this all out."

"So what are we supposed to do, then?" Tatsuki asks, forming another ball of reiryoku experimentally. To everyone's surprise (my own included), the spirit energy starts sparking violently and keeps growing exponentially until both her arms are engulfed in a globe of swirling light that flickers between red and gold like a flame.

With a sound like torn steel, the energy solidifies and shrinks down, forming around Tatsuki's forearms and hands to become a pair of shiny metal gauntlets with a trio of red blades on the outer edges, the last ones sweeping past her elbows like jagged wings. A large yellow gem adorns the back of each hand, and smaller ones stud the knuckles on the thick leather half-gloves under the armor.

Keigo's jaw drops, and while the others aren't quite as blatant they look just as surprised as I feel. I had wondered what would happen if I brought some of the peripheral characters from Ichigo's group of friends along, and apparently it's this.

"Tatsuki-chan, that's so cool!" Orihime is the first to recover, and darts forward to inspect the armor more closely. "It's like if Batman and Iron Man met and saw each other's gloves and were like, 'We should totally collab on some armor'!"

It's an odd way to put it, but really does give an apt description of Tatsuki's new accessories. The girl in question seems a little stunned by the sudden appearance of her ability; she keeps clenching her hands while staring at them with a detached sense of curiosity.

Then she punches out and a little burst of fire scythes out of the knuckle-jewels, and I briefly worry about Keigo's eyes actually dropping out of their sockets. A delighted grin stretches the dark-haired teen's face, and she flows into what I guess is a karate form that brings an interesting pattern of tiny blazes into being.

"This is incredible!" she laughs when she stops, turning to look at something off to the side. "Hey, Rick-san, there's another window in front of me that says I learned a new skill."

My eyebrows raise on their own as I process her words. That's a little odd...I had assumed that they'd be able to see the windows I pulled up and vice-versa, but apparently not. "What does it say?"

Tatsuki frowns briefly as she reads through the description. "It's called Dragon's Peak," she says. "It's an persistent skill that boosts my STR by ten and my physical attack damage by two a hundred percent. Then there's something called a Fire Affinity and a special attack called Sun Claws."

What? Those are amazing abilities, and at level one no less!

I glance pensively toward Yoruichi, who has been watching carefully despite what she'd said earlier, but she rolls her shoulders placidly and continues to lay on a tree branch so I figure it won't be too dangerous to see what comes of the others following suit.

"You guys wanna try that too and see what happens?" I ask the others.

Orihime immediately pulls more of her power to her hands, but rather than form a large ball like before, it splashes out in six distinct slivers that dart to and fro before sinking into those hair clips of hers. Her eyes widen at what I guess are her notifications and pokes at the air excitedly.

"Mine's Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield," she informs us brightly, clapping her hands together. "It's says it's a passive skill with lots of cool effects, and they're shaped like fairies! All my stats get plus two, and I get a ten percent increase in something called mana recharge rate?"

She turns her big eyes inquiringly to me, and I explain, "That means your energy recovers more quickly after you use it." Nodding, she returns to staring at nothing.

"It also has three abilities," she continues after a moment. "The Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield, the Twin Sacred Return Shield, and the Three Sacred Links Shield, and each one does something different. My ability is so awesome!" She calls out the little pixie things that personify her ability and proceeds to tune the rest of us out in favor of greeting them.

I share a glance with the guys and shrug. "Guess you're up?"

Ichigo, Chad, and Keigo all do their thing, but nothing special happens. I frown in thought; I'd have figured that at least Ichigo and Chad might have something happen. Maybe it's an experience thing? But if Orihime managed it, and she's lower level than both of them...I force myself to put off overthinking this. We'll figure it out.

Clapping a disappointed Keigo on the shoulder, I say, "Don't worry; it'll come in time. Instead, I'll show you guys how to enhance your body with spirit energy."

"And what'll that do?" Ichigo inquires.

"All sorts of cool stuff," I gush, unable to contain my enthusiasm. It's one thing to talk about it with Urhara and Yoruichi and Tessai, but these guys are actually able to do the same things I can.

We practice for another two hours or so, at which point I bring out the food and we have ourselves a picnic in the park. With my help, the kids have all learned Energy Sprint, Super Jump, and Dodge. They've also gotten the ID skills and Energy Bolt from having Yoruichi and I basically unlock their spiritual energies, but we haven't gotten into practicing that yet.

On the other hand, I managed to pick up a few more levels in the skills I imparted upon them, as well as a pretty sweet new skill.

Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone! Through a special action, a new skill, "Instruction", has been created!

I can't teach any skills that I don't have at least a skill mastery of ten in, but that's not really much of a hurdle since the only skills I've not ground up to that level are Mana Lance, True Geomancy, and my newly acquired Spirit Sense. While Mana Lance might be a pretty good skill to have for them, they've got around the same experience with Spirit Sense that I do, and there's no way I'm teaching anyone Geomancy or its evolved state. They'll be passing me up in a few months' time anyway; I need all the advantages I can scrounge together.

After the break, we continue with the grind-session until dark. I managed to talk Kurosaki Isshin into letting Ichigo stay out with us a little past dark over the phone (in return for having dinner at the clinic the following night so I've got that to look forward to), and Tatsuki and Keigo got permission from their parents, so without further ado, I raise my hand to the sky and call out, "ID Create: Zombies!"

The Karakura kids are standing close, so I manage to catch the shudder that goes up all their spines when the first zombie's howl reaches their ears.

"Remember," I remind them with a quick, reassuring grin. "Don't panic." The zombies start to slowly shuffle toward us, and I raise a few short mazes of stone to filter them toward us single-file. "Now, get ready to hit 'em when they come through that opening."

There's a moment of breathless anticipation before an odd noise that sounds a bit like rocks being crushed to bits emanating through the maze. I cock my head to the side, curious and anxious. Nothing like this has happened to me so far, but I suppose there's always a first time for anything.

Then, a zombie with incredibly toned musculature smashes straight through the wall a few feet from the entrance I'd made in the maze, followed by about a dozen others. With a quick Observe, I realize that my zombie dungeon seems to have undergone some sort of mutation.

Super Zombie Lv 18
HP: 1800(1800) MP: 250
The walking corpse of a very powerful human. It hates the living, attacking and eating their flesh. The training it underwent when alive has removed the cumbersome movements normally present in the undead, and its strength is four times what it had been while alive.

Vaguely, I can recall going up against Super Zombies in at least two Resident Evil games as a kid, perhaps The Gamer is drawing upon my knowledge to come up with new stuff? I suppose it makes as much sense as anything I've encountered since I died.

I only get a few moments to take stock of this new enemy before the one who broke through the maze suddenly leaps high into the air, nearly on par with my own Super Jump skill, and the other ones follow suit with a collective roar of fury.

Without missing a beat, I pull on the earth in front of me, forming deadly sharp daggers and infuse them with power before letting them fly.

Just about all of them hit their targets and I detonate the Boom Blades with a clenched fist. Explosions rock the ground, and the shock wave pushes against my balance, but I don't really feel it since I'm focused on making sure those bastards won't be getting up again.

Charred, smoking husks fall to the ground heavily, though several of them actually get up. Snarling, I force the ground to swallow them up and grind them to unsavory paste.

"So..." I say, turning to the kids, who are staring at me with a new glint of emotion in their eyes. "I think these guys might be a little too much for you at the moment."

"I'm pretty sure we don't have a choice," Ichigo replies, jerking his chin behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see a veritable horde of undead with the occasional Super Zombie mixed in with the lot.

"Well," I manage to say in a strangled voice, "shit."

After-Action Report: So first and foremost, I'm wondering how my readers think about Tatsuki's power. To take a Fullbringer term, her ability is a Raiment-type, which will gain more pieces as it evolves, like sabatons and things like that. She's basically a firebender with chunks of metal to enhance her strikes. I'm not sure what Keigo's ability will be, if he ever even develops one. I had Tatsuki's power show up first because I figured that, having been friends with Ichigo for most of their lives, she'd have absorbed quite a bit of his stupidly large reserves.

Ichigo, Chad, and Keigo didn't get any powers at this point in time because their abilities will manifest later on, maybe in a chapter or so?

SI's ability to use Geomancy (and now True Geomancy, which will take much longer to master) to create items will have much more significance later on, since that's how he'll be making his signature weapons. Those weapons are more or less fleshed out, with their abilities and buffs all settled except for a few things, and I'd like to think that it'll be a good way for someone with The Gamer ability to stand up to (or at least not die horribly) against the kind of enemies the Bleach universe can throw his way.

Also, the idea to use the Health Potions on a plant to make it grow belongs to the marvelous stewart92, whose fanfic Spirit of the Gamer, is one of the main reasons I even started this story. So thank you, stewart92, for allowing me the use of your wonderful idea!

You can ask me about anything I failed to elaborate on or didn't address in a PM or review, as always. Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and/or reviewed; I love you all from the bottom of my heart...but totally no homo, guys.

Happy Merry New ThanksChristmaHannuKwanzakah to everyone, and have a nice day!