[Yuichi POV]
I bounded up the steps to the front door, slipping through a small gap I had left open earlier. The house was quiet. I padded down the hallway and peered into the living room, shifting back into my human form in a quick burst of white smoke.
The kid—well, the Gyaruo—was sitting cross-legged on the leather couch. He had his elbows resting on his knees and his chin propped in his hands. Every few seconds, he let out a long, dramatic sigh.
"What's with the doom and gloom?" I asked, walking over and leaning against the arm of the couch.
He looked up at me, his face scrunched up in annoyance. "Because I just realized something. I checked the calendar on the wall over there. It's the early 2000s."
I raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And?!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "That means all the good games aren't out yet! I can't play Roblox anymore! Do you know how much i sacrificed?!"
I stared at him. I had expected him to be worried about monsters or his new body, but he was mourning a video game. "Roblox? The kid game?"
"Well, yeah," he said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest, his silver chains rattling. "I am a kid."
I paused. I looked him up and down. The spiky hair, the intense fake tan, the leopard-print jacket, the heavy jewelry. He was built like a lean, athletic teenager. "Just how old were you before you died? Because right now, you look like a seventeen or sixteen-year-old delinquent."
He scratched his cheek with a silver-ringed finger, looking away slightly. "You know, it's rude to ask someone's age without giving yours first."
I rolled my eyes but smirked. "Fair enough. Before my first death, I was nineteen. Then I spent about thirty years in that fantasy world, and two more years as a cat. But honestly, I don't really count the fantasy years. The culture was too medieval. So, mentally and officially..."
I placed a hand on my hip, struck a cute pose with a wink, and declared proudly, "I'm a fresh, vibrant twenty-one-year-old!"
He just stared at me. His expression was completely blank. Slowly, he turned his head slightly to the side. "Flip those numbers."
My pose faltered. "Huh? Repeat that?"
"Flip the numbers," he mumbled, looking down at the glass coffee table. "I was twelve. Twelve years old."
Thud.
I immediately dropped into a deep crouch, my hands gripping my hair. "No. No, no, no, no."
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm an idiot!" I groaned loudly, my voice echoing in the living room. "I'm a stupid, selfish, blind idiot! You pulled me out of the way of that truck! I got a literal child killed!"
I dropped to my hands and knees, crawling across the carpet until I was right in front of the couch. I grabbed the edge of his leopard-print jacket, fake-sobbing into the fabric. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive your useless, irresponsible system! I doomed a baby!"
——
[Hiro's POV (MC)]
I panicked. The gorgeous, adult woman who looked exactly like Yoruichi Shihouin was currently on her hands and knees, crying into my ridiculous jacket.
"W-Wait, get up! It's fine! Stop crying!" I stammered, frantically waving my hands over her head.
Despite the sheer absurdity of the situation, a tiny part of my brain was absolutely geeking out. 'An actual anime character—well, someone who looks exactly like one—is right in front of me!'
"Of course I forgive you!" I said quickly. "Honestly, I moved on my own! It's fine!"
She sniffled dramatically, looking up at me through her purple bangs. "You really mean it?"
"Yes! Look, since you look like Yoruichi anyway, why don't we just make it your own name?" I suggested, trying to change the subject. "Actually, 'Yuichi' is pretty cool. Shorter. Punchier. How about I call you Yuichi?"
She stood up, wiping her face completely clean of any tears, her demeanor shifting instantly back to confident. "Yuichi..." She tested the name, nodding slowly. "It's a nice name. It fits."
Then, her golden eyes narrowed, and her expression turned deadly serious. The air in the room felt suddenly heavy. "But what if I wanted to use my original name?"
I froze, intimidated. "O-Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume—"
She burst out laughing, clapping me on the shoulder hard enough to rattle my teeth. "I'm kidding, kid! Relax. Yuichi is perfect. It's a fresh start. And who knows, maybe my original name was embarrassing."
She smiled warmly at me. "So, Yuichi it is. But you haven't introduced yourself yet, tough guy."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Oh, right. I'm Hiro. Hiro Saijō. The weirdest part is, this body actually has the exact same name as my original self, thankfully. Makes remembering when people call me a lot easier."
"Hiro Saijō," Yuichi repeated. She tilted her head. "Hey, speaking of names. Since I'm technically bound to you now, would you mind if I used your family name? Yuichi Saijō."
"Oh," I said, a little surprised. "Yeah, there's no problem with that at all. Go for it."
"Great." Yuichi clasped her hands together, a dangerous, excited grin spreading across her face. "Now that we're properly introduced and practically family... it's time to get down to business."
She stepped back, raising her hand. "Listen closely, Hiro. I'm about to explain exactly how your new System works. And trust me, you're going to want to pay attention."
Yuichi cleared her throat, pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table like a professor.
"Alright, listen up," she began, holding up one finger. "Since I linked my soul to yours. Here's the gist of how the system will work: by completing tasks, surviving whatever gets thrown at us, or hitting certain milestones, you earn the ability to summon characters from fiction."
My eyes went wide. "Wait. Anyone? Like, superheroes and anime characters?"
"Exactly," Yuichi smirked. "But here's the catch. They aren't going to be mind-controlled zombies. They keep their free will, their personalities, everything. However, to make sure they don't immediately blast you through a wall, the System alters their baseline perception of you. They'll spawn with a massive boost to their tolerance and affection for you. They'll naturally view you as an ally or a friend right out of the gate."
"That's awesome!" I pumped my fist.
"It gets better," she continued, holding up a second finger. "Every time you successfully summon someone, you will randomly receive one power, skill, or item from that specific character's universe."
My twelve-year-old brain was racing a mile a minute. This was literally the greatest thing to ever happen to me. But as I thought about it, a question popped into my head.
"Hey, Yuichi?" I asked, raising my hand slightly like I was in a classroom. "If I'm getting all these powers and summons... do you get stronger too?"
Yuichi froze. Her hand, which was resting on her hip, slowly fell to her side. Her eyes widened in absolute horror.
She stared at the wall behind me. The silence dragged on for a painful five seconds.
'Did she... did she forget to program a way to level herself up?' I thought, wincing slightly.
"I... I didn't..." she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Hey, it's okay!" I said quickly, stepping forward. "I mean, if I get random items from these universes, maybe I can just give some of them to you? Like a power-boosting item or magic or something? That could boost you instead, right?"
Yuichi blinked, processing my logic. She gave a slow, jerky nod. Then, the realization of her own massive oversight completely broke her. I had to reach out and grab her arms to hold her together before she let out a pathetic whine and practically melted, slumping sideways into a nearby leather armchair.
She hung her head over the armrest, staring blankly at the carpet. "I burnt it all..." she muttered, her voice incredibly dramatic and hollow. "I burnt it all to ash... left nothing behind... just pure white ash..."
I stood there, blinking in confusion. 'Is that a reference to something? Why is she talking about ash?' I had no idea what she meant. It definitely wasn't a joke from any cartoon I watched.
Suddenly, Yuichi snapped out of her depression. She bolted upright, crossed the room in a blur, and grabbed me firmly by the shoulders of my leopard-print jacket. Her face was inches from mine, staring at me with intense determination.
"Are you ready to gamble, kid?" she asked, her voice low and serious.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, the excitement instantly pushing past my confusion. "Yes. I'm ready."
She let go of me and stepped back. "Then open it. Just think about the System interface."
I closed my eyes and focused. 'System... open.'
Immediately, a sleek, glowing blue screen materialized in the air right in front of my face. I gasped, my eyes scanning the text. There were tabs for Quests, Summons, and Inventory, but right in the center of the main screen was a glowing gold box wrapped in a red ribbon.
I reached out and tapped the floating box with my ring-covered finger.
The box burst into digital confetti. A prompt appeared on the screen.
[Starter Gift Pack Opened!]
[Reward: 3x Random (1-6 Star) Assimilation Tickets]