"My head hurts so much." That was Kurosaki's first thought as he regained consciousness. He struggled to sit up.
"A cliff? Why am I here? And why do the buildings down there look so strange?"
He instinctively reached up to touch his head, then jolted. "Why are my hands so dirty, and so small?"
By the moonlight and the glow spilling out from the town below, he looked down at his arms. Dust coated them, and bruises ringed his wrists. The moment he moved, a wave of soreness rolled through him.
"So what is this, a dream, reincarnation, or some kind of transmigration?"
He stared into the distance. Beneath the pitch-black night, the town's houses were packed tightly together, lights glittering in rows, making the whole city look unusually bright. Among the many buildings, one stood tallest, drawing the eye like a centerpiece. A flag fluttered from its upper floors.
"That's the Fairy Tail flag!" Kurosaki had watched Fairy Tail before. He knew that emblem too well.
Smack.
He slapped his thigh hard. Pain shot up clean and sharp. So it was not a dream.
"So this is Magnolia? I actually came to the world of Fairy Tail!"
Earth-land was a world where magic was everywhere, woven into daily life. Magic could be used in trade, and there were many mages who earned pay by casting spells. When enough of them gathered together and passed the Magic Council's evaluation, they formed an official guild. Fairy Tail was one of the most famous.
Natsu, Gray, Laxus, Erza, Mirajane, Lucy, and the others of Fairy Tail wrote their legends here.
"Proceed to Fairy Tail to activate ability: Gotei 13 Captain Ability Inheritance. Captain abilities will be unlocked step by step in order from weak to strong. Initial captain ability currently available."
Kurosaki was still caught in the feeling when that sudden voice exploded inside his head.
"A system?" he tested, trying to communicate with whatever had spoken.
"Proceed to Fairy Tail to activate ability: Gotei 13 Captain Ability Inheritance. Captain abilities will be unlocked step by step in the superficial order from weak to strong. Initial captain ability currently available."
It repeated mechanically, offering no answers.
"Gotei 13 captains? As in Bleach's Gotei 13?" His heart lurched. In his previous life, he had followed Bleach and vaguely remembered the Gotei 13 as Soul Society's core fighting force, led by thirteen captains. As for who they all were, and what "weak to strong" even meant, he could not say.
"Looks like I have to go to Fairy Tail to find out. At least the guild does not look too far."
He moved before hesitation could set in, forcing himself upright while fighting the discomfort. He scanned the ground, hoping to find a stick or branch to use as a cane.
There was nothing usable nearby, but behind him was a stretch of woods. He picked a shorter tree, chose a branch with a decent thickness, gripped it with both hands, and threw his weight down. A moment later, the branch gave with a crack. He stripped off some leaves and smaller twigs, then limped toward Fairy Tail with the crude cane.
All the way down, he kept his eyes fixed on the guild's direction. He endured on sheer willpower until he finally reached the town. This body was far too weak. A distance that looked short had felt like a century.
Most of the town's lights were already out. The streets were cold and empty, quiet enough to hear his own breathing. Thankfully, Fairy Tail's guildhall was tall and unmistakable, otherwise finding it in this dark silence would have been miserable.
He spotted a water vat ahead and felt a surge of relief. Finally, he could see what he looked like now.
Reflected in the water was a child, maybe seven or eight. His face was slightly long, yet his features were sharply defined. Brown hair, swept back in a neat side-part, the ends naturally curling, messy but with a distinct air to it. A small lock of bangs fell on the right. His eyes were clear and bright, lively with spirit. Thick brows angled upward, giving him a heroic look despite his age.
"Not bad. Pretty handsome, actually. It's basically what I looked like as a kid in my last life, except anime-style. And this hair, it's naturally like this. No gel needed. If this were before, I would've saved so much money on hair product."
Overall, he was satisfied. The only problem was obvious. He felt completely broke. Aside from the clothes and pants on his body, he had nothing.
He finally reached his destination. Kurosaki stared up at the three-story building. The red front doors looked solemn in the night, and above them hung a wooden sign reading "FAIRY TAIL." Only then did it fully hit him. He really was in Fairy Tail.
But it was far too late. The inside was pitch-black, no lamplight at all.
In his previous life, he had been one of countless ordinary people. School, then a job, then days divided into commuting and work, calm and repetitive. His only hobby had been watching anime, a bit of color in a plain life. And among all the characters he had seen, the captains of the Gotei 13 in Bleach, with their overwhelming abilities, had always been one of the things he envied most.
"Arrival at Fairy Tail confirmed. Gotei 13 Captain Ability Inheritance activated. Current unlock: Initial Captain (4th Division Captain: Retsu Unohana) basic abilities. Proficiency 10%. As spiritual pressure and proficiency increase, stronger captain abilities will unlock gradually. Explore independently."
As the mechanical voice sounded, Kurosaki felt his body change.
The brutal trek down from the cliff had left him feeling like he was about to fall apart. Now his physical condition rose slightly, as if someone had tightened loose joints and set things back into place. Even the bruising around his wrists eased. So this was the baseline healing effect from Unohana's ability.
When the voice fell silent, an image unfolded inside his mind.
A female phantom floated at the center of his inner sea, wearing the white uniform of the 4th Division. Long hair spilled down to her waist like a waterfall. In her hand was a short blade with a gentle, almost soft design, Minazuki. Beneath her, twelve more blurred silhouettes lined up, representing the other captains to be unlocked later. Around her body lingered a faint, near-invisible thread of pale white spiritual pressure, unmistakably the healing-type spiritual pressure unique to Retsu Unohana.
As his thoughts shifted, basic information surfaced within his inner sea. The Gotei 13 were the core military force of Soul Society, led by thirteen captains. In the "superficial" initial ranking from weak to strong, abilities could be unlocked in order:
4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana (in truth possibly among the top three; superficially categorized as medical and healing, and on the surface focused on support)