Chapter 16: The Soul Reaper!

Kizuru did not awaken for several days after the incident. His brother Isshin had asked Captain Oko and Captain Hikifune about his whereabouts, but he was only told that he was recovering from serious injury after a mission accident.

However, when he finally did regain consciousness, he was unable to see or hear anything, he only felt the viscous gel that suspended his body. Exploring his body, he discovered that although his hands had healed, they had healed without fingers - turning his palms into clubs. His skin was also completely healed, but his right leg remained a stump from the knee down. He was unable to hear anything because fluid filled his ears, but he was unable to see because he lacked eyeballs completely - they were destroyed in the Kurohitsugi.

Kizuru had no idea how long he remained in the vat of liquid after he woke up because he had no way to tell time. He guessed that he had been floating here for several days, but that was only his nervous and traumatized mind dilating his sense of time. In reality, it was only a few hours before one of the Squad 12 researchers noticed his consciousness and removed him from the tank.

One of the things that made him extremely anxious while floating in the green liquid was the fact that he felt his connection with Jingubang had greatly weakened. He could tell Jingubang was relatively nearby, but it felt like someone he was so accustomed to constantly talking to had suddenly gone quiet.

As the green liquid emptied from his ears, his sense of hearing returned as he lay on a steel operating table. He could hear the grumbles of Squad 12 researchers chatting about various topics; including the recent hollowfied shinigami, a bunch of injured squad members, and the impending visit of a group from someplace called the 'Royal Palace'.The general public of the Seireitei had not yet been informed of topics like the hollowfied shinigami attacks, but these researchers were clued in due to their status.

"Alright, are we prepared?"

One of the researchers, who looked normal other than the third eye on his forehead, asked the others as they all centered around the table holding Kizuru.

"Yes."

"Yes."

Of the other two researchers, one was a normal female shinigami with glasses while the other had a long neck and six long fingers on each hand.

When they voiced their permission, the first researcher held his hands over Kizuru's right hand. Strings of blue reishi came out from his fingers and started weaving together around Kiuzuru's hand. Slowly, the reishi started to take the form of fingers and turned skin color.

The female researcher was using reishi in a similar manner to attach a pale leg to Kizuru's right thigh. This leg was created using a tissue sample from Kizuru and had been gestating in another tank of green liquid. Although it was originally pale white, when it connected to Kizuru's knee it started to regain color.

The researcher with slender fingers retrieved an eyeball from a small jar, and with the other hand formed a reishi fiber that connected the new eye to Kizuru's optic nerve. After placing both eyeballs into Kizuru's head, he placed his palms over his face and emanated a green glow. Several minutes later Kizuru started to regain vision - albeit extremely blurry.

The connection of his eyes and leg gave Kizuru an extremely itchy sensation, but the reformation of his hands was truly painful. The bones of his fingers were formed first, which was not painful, nor was the creation of the muscle and connective tissue, but the creation of the nerves felt like someone was burning his nerves directly. Only when the fat and skin insulated his nerves did the sensation fade.

Even after his body was fully healed, which took about an hour, he was required to remain in the research laboratory for the following 24 hours while his reiatsu stabilized. After one day, Kizuru left the Squad 12 underground laboratory, alongside his fixed Zanpakuto that had returned to its sealed form. Although his Zanpakuto was put back together, Kizuru still felt a loss in connection - like a part of his soul had been extinguished.

He met with his brother Isshin, who had been concerned about his disappearance. Seeing that Kizuru had no visible wounds, Isshin was relieved, but he could also tell that his brother had been through a traumatizing experience. The light in his eyes had changed - not in a bad way necessarily, but Kizuru had definitely matured.

The sensation Kizuru felt when he fell unconscious was the same as when he died in his previous life. That's how he knew he had almost been killed. In addition to that, he felt more pain than he had ever before. Jingubang was a punishing Zanpakuto to have, and although Kizuru could take the pain when he fought Gin and Isshin, this time he was able to feel his entire body being destroyed - first his skin, then his flesh, then his bones, then his eyes, and finally his soul itself. But above the pain, and above the feeling of death, Kizuru felt afraid to lose what he had in this life.

In this life, he had a loving family, a world to explore, a duty of service, and power to gain. He was intoxicated by the sensation of gaining strength, and loved it almost as much as he loved his family. The prospect of losing both made him realize that he needed to stop treating this life like a game. The fantastic phenomena that existed in this world and the powers he had gained certainly made it seem like one, but his near-death poured cold water over his head. What he needed to do was become smarter, and regain his ruthlessness - both of which had plenty of in his life as a bounty hunter, but had dulled since being birthed into the Soul Society.

The Soul Society was just as ruthless a place as the wild west, but having a comfortable and stable upbringing this time around made him feel safe. His near execution at the hand of Sosuke Aizen shattered this illusion. He used to be called the 'Soul Reaper' - a title he earned through his efficiency and viciousness. And now, he was once again called a soul reaper, but this time that title was not earned, it was granted by the academy to everyone with an iota of talent and fortitude.

What drove him to commit the acts that gave him that nickname as a bounty hunter was the necessity. At first, he needed the money, but later on, he came to relish in the hunt and notoriety. Now he had no need for fortune and wanted to live a low-key comfortable life.

However, he was absolutely furious. Gin and his partner had attempted to steal those things away from him. They tried to steal his family and his power. This rage awakened the instinct that had lain dormant for 8 years, and he once again desired to taste blood on his tongue.