I awoke to the sound of grinding stone. Lifting my head out of the sleeping bag, I saw Chisai using his new power to slowly make the flowing water that King had dug into narrow and collect into a basin before it flowed into the drain of roots.

Chisai looked pleased as the earthy walls looked rather flat. King was also at work, using her mandibles to smooth the flat surfaces for artistic value. The floor looked to have sunk by some feet for the material but it just meant the water had a little pool for Cider the tree to enjoy with its roots.

“King the skill levelled up! It says that it cost less energy to use,” he announced, looking happier than I had seen before.

Quest complete: Make a basic fountain in the Tunnel. 20 EXP

Chisai pumped one fist in celebration.

I eyed the window and blinked as I got the EXP.

System had tons of mundane quests but Russel has not been too interested in making a home than seeking combat. Demonslayer888 asked that she not get them in her home due to her values of doing good acts for no reward sadly but she promised to make it up to System after school.

“Wait so all the party members can get quests? Does that mean I can eventually get a 100 party members and basically sweat shop the system?” I asked in slight surprise.

System estimates that you can have five members, including user, before EXP programs begin to falter. Maybe 10 before all but User’s status stop working and more will prevent access to Malice Zone protections.

That was fair.

“Looking good, Chisai,” I yawned. The reaper turned with a huge smile.

“Thank you. If I have time and some rest, I can see about making small rooms. It won’t be much but I think every little bit helps making future teammates feel included if they have a home away from home. I know I do!” he explained as he handed me an apple.

Cider had about two more on its branches. That tree was being productive...

I chewed my apple and I instantly felt more awake.

A quick check of the time told me that our late night walk back with Tatsuki had made me sleep in until 10am.

Eh, I’ve slept later than that so I felt like I was being damn productive. We pretty much passed out when we got back. Watching for spies or Yoruichi was getting tiring. I couldn’t spend my entire life outside Malice Zones watching every I said.

It would drive me bananas. And what would they do? Know Malice Zones existed? Annoying but with the System, they’d be some time away from finding them let alone opening them. Even if they did... if Urahara and Yoruichi wanted to remove pain and suffering and help the area, I wasn’t going to be a dick about it.

“Guess we can do some home improvement. Any ideas?” I asked and Chisai blinked.

“Me? I guess. I did cleaning and trash collection as part of my duties of the 4th Squad so... I have an idea of different kinds of rooms and buildings,” he mused.

“I can make rooms for privacy. A good home needs a common room, a practise area, emergency exits, and a pantry for food for rainy days. A garden for herbs is nice as well,” he listed.

“Do you have skills that lend themselves to making or crafting?” he asked politely. I... didn’t. Besides Sacred Orb, almost everything I had was elemental or destructive. I could always make a few though. Sure it meant more skills but non-combat skills could be trained at different times than combat ones, so it wasn’t a big issue.

I also really needed a hobby. Killing, adopting strays, panicking about the future, finding rocks...

I needed a good way to destress between things before I popped a blood vessel or became a battle junkie that would make Kenpachi shake his head...

I looked at what we had before I told Chisai I’d be right back. If the reaper wanted to handle the structure, I guess I could do the interior decorating.

---

I sat around with a bunch of metal, rotting wood, bricks, and the metal I had gotten from the Malice Trainyard. The nature outside was growing wildly and I thought I saw the beginning of tree saplings...

I almost wanted to borrow Chisai’s Zanpakuto to help but instead I decided to be the Gamer I actually was.

I focused my hands and tried to use my fire affinity. Heat and sparks gathered in my hand as if I was branding the air but using energy I began to draw in heat and vibrate the air.

The beginning of a fireball was sort of forming but I didn’t need that right now. I compressed the fire. I pushed it down to my finger and the resistance was staggering. I began to sweat and my energy drained rapidly.

Then my finger produced a little flame at the tip which began to burn the air like a blowtorch.

Fire Affinity has reached level 6! Increased control over fire skills!

You have created ‘Finger Torch!”

Finger Torch. Active. Fire. Lv.1: Create a flame at the tip of your finger that can be used for various purposes. Cost 10 Energy. 10 energy every 5 seconds.

What a sustain cost for such a tiny flame but it was blue and when I tested it on two sheets of metal... they wielded together with a big messy line.

You have gained: Metal Crafting!

Metal Crafting. Passive. Lv.1: Increase skills when making non-weapons from metal. Increases Mental every 5 levels.

Oh but I wasn’t done. I put out my finger and went to do some laps while I waited for my Energy to come back.

Physical Exercise has reached level 8!

Chisai actually joined me as we did laps around the Tunnel. He looked determined to show he was going to pull his weight.

Also, he had run out of energy for his walls as well. I left him to it as I returned to my ‘crafting’ corner.

I looked to the rough grainy wood that would sooner impale someone than make a good piece of furniture. I focused on my Acid Cloak and focused on narrowing it to my hands. It was like going back to Acid Touch, the previous level, but bringing the power of the cloak with it.

My hand was hazy green and I tried to smooth it over my skin as much as possible. The Acid became like a glove.

You have learned Acid Affinity!

Acid Affinity. Passive. Lv.1: By actively controlling acid, you have greater control over its destructive nature.

You have created the skill: Acid Glove!

Acid Glove. Active. Acid. Lv.1: A controllable glove of acid that can be manipulated to lose strength or gain it for different levels of acid. Cost 10 Eenergy. 1 sustain for weakest acid. 5 for medium. 10 for strongest. More levels will give greater selection.

I used the weakest acid to rub at the wood. The splinterly surface was slowly broken down to reveal a polished surface after a few minutes. I repeated this several times for the other wood I had collected.

Acid Affinity has reached level 2! Increased control!

Acid Glove has reached level 2! Added defence against touching acidic surfaces.

Progress was slow but sure.

---

I looked at the shoddy metal sheet I tried to call a ‘door’.

Metal barrier: It swings and was made with shoddy skills.

I glared at the description but decided to just admit I had some ways to go before I was making masterpieces.

At least I got skills...

Wood Crafting. Passive. Lv.3: Improves skills when making items other than weapons. Increased mental by 1 every 5 levels.

Metal Crafting has reached level 3! Increased understanding of metal.

Finger Torch has reached level 2! Increased range.

I turned to see Chisai had finished making three small single rooms at the far side of the tunnel. Each was big enough for a single bed and a desk but lacked a ceiling. It was like a giant office cubicles really.

“My Tombstone skill is already level 4! King really helped because she brought me stone and soil to use as material!” Chisai beamed proudly at his work. I nodded in approval.

“You got a real knack for making things. I didn’t even think you got bored!” I grinned. He shrugged but I really needed a lot more wood and materials to make enough furniture. King had been expanding the garden around Cider which looked to be brimming with flowers, filling the air with the scent of a meadow.

Quest complete! Create 5 or more things for the Tunnel to improve the homely feeling. 20 EXP!

Chisai’s 3 rooms, my door and a tiny stool which looked fatally sick and would die if someone used it. One day I would make a throne just so I could prove I could. Still, quest complete!

---

Maria nearly jumped up in her seat as the history teacher went on about some period of samurai or was poetry? Either way, her eyes sparkled as she saw the level up notification.

Russ and Chisai were working hard!

She boosted all her stats by one and got told her dex was close to a milestone. Maria could not wait to get it up! When the bell rang for lunch, she walked outside and almost ran into Tatsuki who was waiting for her.

Next to the girl she had seen nearly die last night was a curious girl with the reddish hair of almost ginger and chocolate brown eyes.

“Maria, Orihime... Orihime, this is the girl I was telling you about who helped me after I was attacked by feral crows last night,” Tatsuki said seriously. Maria blanched at the words. Did Tatsuki really think that-

“Oh! Thank you for helping Tatsuki from those birds! I never knew they could get rabies!” the girl said in dismay but then pumped Maria’s hand and almost sent Maria into the ceiling.

“T-that’s some grip,” Maria stuttered. Orihime beamed and took her hand in a more gentle manner. The ditzy expression seemed to fade for a second and Orihime’s features turned... mature, almost gentle.

“Thank you... I’d like you to eat with us if you want?” she smiled and Maria stared.

But Maria had ten different things to talk to herself about! She had to imagine kicking ass in zones! She couldn’t miss lunch with herself! Tatsuki put a hand on her shoulder and guided her out and Orihime pushed excitedly.

“Lunch buddies!” the girl cheered. Tatsuki grinned.

“You can tell us why you throw salt on people and called our math teacher a demon in human skin,” she teased at Maria’s discomfort.

---

This was taking some effort.

“It’s sparring but it’s good for us to keep our physical skills sharp,” I told Chisai who held his Zanpakuto, the tip brushing the ground.

“I don’t want to swing my sword at you!” he protested. I held my shield up and my mace.

“You’re not aiming for the kill. Just get used to fighting a foe that might be tricky and give you feedback,” I reminded. Chisai bit his lip.

“We could wait until the Malice Zone and fight there. We don’t have to harm each other!” he suggested.

“Okay... I get ya,” I relented then walked up to him.

“We’ll do some style learning!” I said and he looked confused. I pointed to his sword.

“Basically move you sword very slowly so I understand how you attack and learn how to work as a team. If you tap my shield and show me how you dodge, I’ll be slow as well with my mace, we can learn how to predict movements and be a squad!” I smiled.

Chisai turned that over.

“Good idea. I mean we both have weapons and close spaces could be dangerous if I swing in my usual way,” he admitted.

“Just tapping and slow movements? I can do that!” he said looking much happier.

Like with switching out a student’s weighted clothes for heavier ones in his sleep... I too would slowly increased the speed of this ‘safe practice’.

Mean but Chisai needed to have a good handle on that sword for when his energy ran low. Chisai started off slow, telling me about Zanjutsu. The style he was taught. It was for heavy slashing and blade guarding against usually fast agile foes but could be adapted to become hulking strikes for high defensive foes.

“It’s a bit of a mark of shame if a Reaper cannot show simple mastery of the art. I barely got by but my Kido affinity most likely saved me from the cut,” he said and did a slow exaggerated over swing which I blocked casually.

I tried a swing from the side and his blade tip moved the angle enough that I barely hit. It was a love tap at most but we kept moving back and forth. He would slash and I would block. I tried a shield smash and he back stepped with a smile.

I wonder if he noticed we had gone from almost slow motion actors to simply playful taps? I pushed on and did a half-hearted swing which he did some odd bend with his arms and the blow just bounced off.

He went still as he read something.

“I...I just got a Zanjutsu Affinity skill.” he read, eyes going so wide I was afraid they were about to fall out.

“That’s good!” I beamed. He shook his head wildly.

“No that’s bad!” he said in a panic. He waved his arms, sword still gripped.

“Your powers can include Reaper specialities?” he asked and I nodded slowly.

“So it seems,” I replied confused.

“If you can boost Kido or hand to hand styles we have... or Shikai training...” Chisai began to breathe fast and he looked around as if expecting to be surrounded by things.

“If the head of 12th Squad finds out about the gems, that was bad enough but knowing you can boost weak reapers like me? You’ll be taken and used!” he tried to explain still visibly upset.

“Captain Mayuri is cruel and many dark rumors surround him. If I go back and he can sense the gems power in me or see I’ve jumped many levels of power... they’ll investigate or interrogate me!” he whispered.

“That is a problem,” I replied calmly. That made him paused.

“Easy solution, just don’t go back and stay here with me,” I offered and he spluttered. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was something of a... bad man. He was the most atypical of mad anime scientists. I think Urahara himself recruited the bugger from the Maggot’s nest.

The only good thing was that he found seeking perfection or godhood a horrible idea. The bad things included carrying a picture book of dissected Quincies for fun and treated his lieutenant like shit besides the fact she was his ultimate creation.

The man was a walking complexes of madness, logic, and childish glee at poking things he didn’t know.

So ending up in his lab was a nono. I would have to develop a self destruct skill or a vast teleportation ability to avoid his ‘tender’ care.

“I have to go back,” Chisai said, face glum.

“You have family?” I asked with interest. He shook his head.

“Friends?”

“Not really-”

“A pet?” I pushed.

“No?”

“Then why do you have to go back?” I asked in confusion.

“My captain let me into her squad when no one else really wanted to take me. I owe her!” he finally answered. I frowned.

“Has she ever personally sat down with you and talked to besides passing comments or introduction day?” I inquired honestly. Chisai’s downcast face was answer enough.

“I’m a Reaper. I had to guide souls and purify Hollows. Its selfish or like Squad 11 to ignore that because I’m having fun,” he explained then smiled sadly.

“I take my job seriously as a duty,” he added. There was a pause as Cider the tree shifted in a breeze that wasn’t there.

“They’ll kill you if you go back and don’t tell them things. They sent you here to die without support,” I sighed exasperated. Chisai squirmed.

“Punishment is never kind but I still have 3 months before my expected report at a predetermined gate opening. I can take my time to think about how to explain things or... or if I want to stay,” he said and sheathed his sword.

I was about to tease him that he was considering it but I felt an odd feeling of being watched then it was gone as fast as it came.

“Did you feel that?” I asked but Chisai tilted his head.

“No? Do you need a break?” he asked concerned. I shook my head but didn’t disregard the feeling.

“Nah, you can go and hang with Maria for lunch. I got to practice things,” I told him and he was gone a few minutes later.

I turned to King.

“Hey, bud! Let’s do something cool and see if we can snuff out nosy people” I grinned.

The odd thing was the watching feeling came from inside the Tunnel...

---

Maria felt a little odd as after school, she had a ghost man and a sarcastic classmate walking her to the Tunnel.

“I can’t believe you stayed to watch English class,” Maria complained and Chisai looked sheepish. Tatsuki blinked as they entered the trainyard.

“The hell? Why is this place so green? I passed here last week and it was grey!” she pointed to the flowering vines and flowers. Maria hummed.

“One of the fucking cool things about getting rid of the Zones. Makes the world feel better!” she explained. Tatsuki winced at her cursing but rolled with it better than Chisai. Maria lead them into the centre towards the tunnel when someone crashed down on the ground before them, having actually leaped over a train.

A body of white greenish tinged armour was the first thing she saw. It looked like one arm was a deep orange and the other ice blue. He stood up, turning to show a single leg covered in chitin that lead up to a deep green carapace. The helmet only covered down to the nose and the eyes were behind a visor of thin armour.

The helmet had two flowing ribbon like attennai. The last main feature was the tight belt and thick gauntlet hands.

“Halt, tis I. The hero of peace and nature. I welcome you fellow friends of the nest,” the man was easily about 6 foot tall and spoke in a smooth adrongyous tone. Tatsuki pointed.

“What the hell is that?!” she demanded. The man jumped and twirled in the air before landing before them.

“Warrior Tatsuki, it warms my heart to see you well. I bid you welcome to the garden of our soon to be mighty home!” the person said. Despite the height, the throat looked smooth and the chin was a little pointy. The lips being full but also quirked in a familiar way. Everyone was silent.

“Russel?” Maria squinted. The armoured man leaned down and put a finger to his lips.

“In this form, I am the protector of innocent and green. I am King of justice, the Rusty shield of peace! I am the Royal Guard!” Russel announced and two greenish Purity Stones fell from his hands to make a small boom of green smoke as he pointed to the sky.

Maria blinked as Tatsuki’s foot implanted into Russel’s face and sent him crashing into a train with a heavy dent.

“Weirdo! Stop acting like a cartoon character,” she growled. Russel groaned.

“No appreciation for the mood... you all suck,” he whined as he peeled himself off the train with ease. Chisai applauded.

“Royal Guard! Your attitude is wonderful!” he said, eyes wide with joy. Maria turned to him, not believing it.

“Chisai, it’s just Rus-” she began but the armoured figured laughed and jumped behind a train. A moment later Russel and King calmly turned the corner.

“RUSSEL! YOU MISSED A SUPERHERO!” Chisai screamed and rushed over to explain.

“Can I still leave?” Tatsuki asked blankly Maria grabbed her arm.

“Leave me here and I will find you in hell,” she warned.