Reborn in bleach as a hollow with a system

55 – Steak Dinner

= Meanwhile back on Earth =

Reina was out having a meal with Masaki. The hadn't been able to see each other in a while because Masaki was reconnecting with her family. After how much time they had spent together they had become quite close and missed each other. This was the first time she had some time to catch up. They decided to enjoy a nice dinner to celebrate.

"So how have things been?" Reina asked curiously.

"It was a lot. My husband was being his usual silly self, but I know he is just using that to cover his feelings. As for Yuzu and Karin it took a while, but they are starting to slowly open up more. Karin is the most difficult one, she has been struggling at school. It hurts knowing I wasn't able to be there for them for so long," she said getting caught up in her melancholy. 

"Yeah. I know we tried to prepare, but there's only so much we could do," Reina said nodding in agreement. She was enjoying a nice medium rare A5 wagyu steak that practically melted in her mouth with each bite and a sip of the paired red wine to bring it all together.

Masaki sighed. "As for Ichigo... I can't believe my husband was looking the other way with everything that happened. I had to make sure to... correct his behaviour," she said exasperatedly.

Reina chuckled. "I'm sure you showed him his place," she responded.

"Oh yes I did," Masaki said with a warm smile before turning serious.

"I just hope Ichigo is safe," she said.

"Hisashi made sure he survived the first encounter with Soul Society, but now it's up to him and his friends there," she said before taking a slow sip of her wine.

"I hope Hisashi is safe too," she said with a sigh.

"You know just as well as me that he's probably fine. Unlike my son who takes after his father Hisashi is too smart to get caught off guard," Masaki said doing her best to reassure Reina.

"I know. I know," Reina said with a light smile breaking onto her lips.

"Enough about me though, what have you been up to?" Masaki asked.

"Mostly work and training," Reina answered.  She had been throwing herself into her company and training to distract from her worries regarding Hisashi. He hadn't told her a lot about Hueco Mundo, but what little he had told her had convinced her it was a very hostile place.

"You can't just bury yourself in work," Masaki told her, concerned about her wellbeing.

"You're right, but I'm here with you now. Right?" Reina agreed.

"I've been a little worried. Lately I've been feeling like I'm being watched. I think the stress might be making me paranoid," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, maybe take some time off work and delegate some of it to your subordinates. You can always come to visit me," Masaki said.

"You're right. Being honest I probably barely need to be there. We're so far ahead of the competition and now that the other programmers are up to speed enough on the code to handle at least all the minor updates and bug fixes I really only need to be involved with the larger changes and updates that come once a year. At this point we're practically printing money as the contracts come in," Reina said.

"Training is progressing slowly as usual, not too much new to share there. It's only been a couple of weeks since our last shared session after all," she continued.

"You need to get some hobbies Reina," Masaki said with concern.

"I have hobbies." Reina retorted.

"Like? You know I lived with you for years right?" Masaki deadpanned, 

Reina sighed in defeat.

"Yes yes mom..." she said.

"Hey! I'm only a bit older than you," Masaki responded indignantly nursing her wine.

"Try a few years," Reina said with a smirk. 

"You bitch." Masaki responded before breaking into laughter. Reina couldn't hold back her own laughter and joined her.

"This place is really good." Masaki said taking another bite of her steak.

"Yeah, it's been open for over a decade. It's only recently I've been able to afford eating here," Reina said.

"Now for the juicy stuff. How has it been finally ending your dry spell?" she teased.

Masaki blushed heavily and started drinking more of her wine to escape the line of questioning.

"Come on... you can tell me," Reina continued to pester her. Unfortunately she didn't manage to get any juicy details from Masaki.

Reina sighed in defeat "Never mind. How about anything else? What's up in Karakura?" she asked.

"Other than beating off Kisuke?" Masaki asked.

Reina chuckled. "Oh? Maybe there is some interesting gossip after all?" she said.

Masaki started laughing "I almost wish. No, it's always experiment this and experiment that with him. When he encounters something new he just can't help himself. Nothing a good beating can't help though," she explained.

After their steak dinner they enjoyed some desserts and coffee making the most of the little time both of them had away from their responsibilities.

"We have to do this again sometime soon," Reina said excitedly feeling more at ease than she had since Hisashi had left.

"Yeah, I haven't been able to unwind since going back to Karakura," Masaki said, but she was smiling happily.

Reina knew how hard it had been for her to stay away from her family for so long. She knew Hisashi had his reasons, but that didn't make it much better. All she could do was trust in him though. He hadn't let her down so far and he knew how much he had struggled to improve things not only for himself, but also those around him. The Kurosaki's had their mother back. She herself was now rich and powerful.

She wishes he could reveal himself to their parents too, but he had explained enough about the supernatural world for her to understand that was probably not for the best at least until they were powerful enough to protect them.

Shortly after they left the restaurant a tall older gentleman with short black hair, a thick moustache that was sitting on the other end of the restaurant got up and followed them out. He was wearing a shirt, waistcoat and dark leather strap over his right eye.