Healing

"Jun!"

News of Jun's rescue spread throughout the Seireitei within ten minutes. A crowd of Tenth Division members immediately rushed to the Shimizu Family home to tell Isuzu, who was recuperating there. After a moment of shock, Isuzu used Shunpo at a speed comparable to a Captain-level Soul Reaper's to reach the Fourth Division. She found out where Jun was and rushed inside.

But a broad sleeve stopped her, and Retsu Unohana's Spiritual Power enveloped Isuzu.

"Mrs. Shimizu, Mr. Shimizu is still very weak. Please don't get too worked up."

"Whew... Thank you, Captain Unohana."

"There's no need to thank me. I only did what I had to do."

"May I stay here and look at Jun?"

"Yes, as long as you don't touch him."

"All right, thank you."

Isuzu was the only one allowed to rush in. Everyone else was stopped at the door to the ward, and none of them could get in. Then Captain Retsu Unohana came out and sent them all away with a single sentence.

"He's not ready for visitors yet. Please leave."

If anyone in Soul Society spoke with the most authority, it was definitely the Captain-Commander. Who came second? Retsu Unohana. She was the one who would save your life when it mattered most. Anyone who dared disobey her would have to bear the consequences.

Sitting in the ward, Isuzu stared blankly at Jun as tears silently streamed down her face.

It was half a month before Jun woke up. He felt someone holding his hand, and then sensation returned to his whole body, as if his soul had come back. He opened his eyes.

"Jun..."

Jun's vision was still dark and blurry. All he could see was a black shape in front of him, but he could hear her voice.

"Lingling?" His voice was weak, and speaking sent a sharp pain through his body.

Isuzu saw Jun's whole body shudder after he spoke, and she hurriedly asked in alarm, "Jun, are you all right? Where does it hurt?"

Jun knew he couldn't speak, so he thought he would draw on his Spiritual Power and use Tenteikūra instead. But the moment he tried, he nearly passed out again. Isuzu panicked and hurried outside to call for help.

Retsu Unohana arrived immediately. After checking on Jun, she channeled Kaido into his body, and Jun woke up again.

"Don't speak or make any big movements. I'll do the talking for now. I'll ask you questions, and if the answer is yes, blink. If not, open your eyes and close them again. Do you understand?"

Jun blinked.

"Your injuries are extremely severe. Most of your Reishi core has been broken. Even using Kaido on your body won't be fully effective right now. You'll need to draw on your own Spiritual Power to restore your Reishi core, but it will be very painful. Do you understand?"

Jun blinked. The Reishi core was the pathway through which Spiritual Power flowed. Although a Soul Reaper's entire body was made of Reishi and Spiritual Power could theoretically travel anywhere through it, the Reishi core could be thought of as meridians. Power flowed through it faster and in greater quantities, making it the most efficient route for using Spiritual Power.

Its counterpart was the spirit network, the external pathways through which Spiritual Power was released and absorbed, shaped like colorful ribbons.

"I suggest waiting a while longer before beginning treatment. You've only just woken up, and you're not ready yet. What do you think?"

Jun opened his eyes and closed them again, then strained to glance at the figure behind Retsu Unohana. He knew it was Isuzu.

Isuzu had been watching Jun the whole time. She saw his eyes and asked, "Captain Unohana, is there any way to force Jun to stay conscious?"

"You..." But Unohana didn't continue, because she saw Jun blinking frantically. She could only sigh. "All right, but it really will be painful."

Jun blinked, and Isuzu said, "It's all right. Jun can bear it."

"Since you both say so, Mrs. Shimizu, please leave first. I'll be using my Shikai for the treatment, and it wouldn't be convenient to have others watching."

"Yes. Please, Captain Unohana."

After Isuzu left, Unohana warned Jun, "Would you like me to plug your ears, or will you promise not to tell anyone my release command? I suggest plugging your ears."

Jun blinked, so she plugged his ears. He didn't hear Unohana's release command, and after feeling a chill in his head, he was swallowed by the manta ray called Minazuki.

The moment that thing swallowed him, Jun could move again, but excruciating pain came with it. It hurt incredibly, incredibly badly, but Jun bit down on his arm and endured it.

At the same time, he circulated his Spiritual Power back and forth through his Reishi core. It was painful, but effective. Jun could feel his Reishi core mending, though the pain was also wearing him down. But whenever Jun felt dizzy and muddle-headed, a cooling sensation would wash over his mind and keep him awake.

Jun was strong, and his ability to control Spiritual Power far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Since his whole body hurt anyway, Jun controlled the flow through all the breaks in his body at once, flushing them from both directions. Of course, saying he controlled his entire body at once was an exaggeration, but he really could control all the main pathways at the same time.

So Jun quickly finished repairing the main pathways and began working on the secondary ones. The pain had lessened considerably, and Jun released his arm from his mouth. He had bitten almost down to the bone, but it was being treated too.

After repairing the secondary pathways, he was basically fine. But since he was already inside this thing's stomach, it would be a waste not to take advantage of such a good opportunity. Jun continued circulating his Spiritual Power to examine his body, and sure enough, some places still felt uncomfortable, so he treated them as well.

Just as Jun felt he was about done, he was spat out, covered in slime. The moment he landed, a stream of water washed him clean.

"Rest for a few more days so we can observe you."

Then Unohana left with a look of disgust. Jun remembered a rumor that Unohana never touched anyone treated by her own Shikai because it was disgusting.

Jun really was weak at the moment. It felt as though all his Spiritual Power was gone. He was struggling to climb into bed when Isuzu came up behind him and supported him.

"I'm all right now."

"Mmm..."

"You're crying? Sorry for making you worry."

"Mmm..."

With tears in her eyes, Isuzu laid Jun on the bed and covered him with a blanket. Why did it feel as though she were handling a dead man? Jun reached out and wiped his beloved wife's tears away, then gave her a shameless grin.

"How can you still smile?"

"You were crying, so I couldn't very well start crying too. You were crying for me, but who would I cry for?"

"You dead man!" Isuzu angrily punched Jun with her little fist.

Jun laughed even more happily. "I'm back."

Those words made Isuzu burst into tears. She nodded repeatedly and said through her sobs, "Welcome back...!"

Jun enjoyed life as a patient for a while. Isuzu waited on him, keeping him perfectly comfortable, and his younger sister often came to care for him too. It was wonderful.

Through conversations with his beloved wife and considerate younger sister, Jun learned what had happened after he returned from Hueco Mundo.

So, to reconstruct the whole affair:

In Hueco Mundo, Jun had Starrk beat him until he was badly injured, as badly as possible. Jun had already felt it himself before—that really was bad! Starrk was a reliable kid.

Then Jun had Starrk throw him through the Dangai into Soul Society. Because Jun had opened the passage into the Dangai first, no Garganta appeared on the Soul Society side. It hadn't used the Hollows' racial ability; instead, Starrk had smashed the space open with brute force.

Then Jun was found by Yamada Taiyū, who was on patrol. Akiyama Eiji, the fastest member of their squad, brought Jun to the Fourth Division, where Retsu Unohana gave him emergency treatment.

Then, after seventeen days in a coma, Jun woke up. He received treatment the same day and got better.

Over the next few days, Jun received countless visitors, one wave after another. Eventually, both Jun and Retsu Unohana found it a little annoying, though it was mainly Unohana who was annoyed, so Jun was discharged.

After his discharge came another round of congratulations. People came and went for about a month before things finally quieted down. Then Aizen came alone to visit the Shimizu Family.

"I knew you wouldn't die so easily."

"I really did come close."

Isuzu brought over some dishes to go with their drinks and said, "Jun, you should properly thank Aizen-senpai. If he hadn't told me you wouldn't die, I might not have made it through. I even thought about following you."

"Is that so!? Then thank you so much, Senior. Let's both offer him a toast."

"You're too polite. I only said what I thought."

After the toast, Isuzu left. Since Aizen's previous visit, Isuzu had known that these two men had a relationship they couldn't tell others about. Ahem, not that kind of relationship, of course. But Isuzu also knew that their bond was very deep, and it wasn't appropriate for her to be present for their secret conversation.

"She's a good woman."

"Hehe, you should find one too."

"Me? I'm not like you. I don't have that much attention to spare for women, and I'm not lucky enough to get put in a girls' dormitory. Hahaha."

"That's right. It's called destiny. All of Soul Society helped me choose my darling."

Aizen was defeated by Jun's shamelessness. "All right, you're impressive."

"I'm not bad. Thank you."

"Haven't you already thanked me?"

"That's different. You were the only one in all of Soul Society who believed in me."

"That's because I know how shameless you are."

"Look who's talking."

The two clinked cups in tacit understanding, and Aizen asked curiously, "What were you thinking? You nearly got yourself killed this time."

"Yeah, I really did come close. After I sent them away, I opened a Space-Breaking World myself and used Five Dragon Destruction to buy time. But I was still pursued into the Dangai, and then I took a hit. After that, I didn't know anything."

"You were lucky too. Fifty-seven days is almost half a day in the Dangai." Aizen did the math. Time passed three hundred times faster in the Dangai than outside. "You survived in the Dangai for that long without dying. That's luck."

"I didn't survive there. I was unconscious."

"Right, unconscious."

The two clinked cups again.

"Just how strong is a Vasto Lorde?"

"I don't know. Five Dragon Destruction can't kill one, anyway."

"Can it injure one?"

"Of course it can. No matter how powerful something is, Five Dragon Destruction should be able to hurt it, right?" Jun thought of Yhwach later on. He really couldn't hurt that thing, but Starrk definitely couldn't ignore Five Dragon Destruction.

"What did that Vasto Lorde look like?"

"Humanoid, covered from head to toe in white bone, with things like snake scales and a tail behind it."

"Another humanoid Vasto Lorde?"

Jun knew Aizen was thinking of his mother, a humanoid Vasto Lorde with a ram-horned mask.

"Anyway, I'm glad you came back."

"Haha, yeah."

"And let me offer you a toast on my father's behalf."

"All right, I accept."

"Have you thought of how to explain the space Kidō yet?"

"Uh, do I need to explain it?"

"Heh... That's Soul Society for you. That's Central 46."

Jun scratched his head. "Tch... My wife taught me."

Aizen froze for a moment, then suddenly realized that it was an incomparably good answer. Members of the Twelfth Division did indeed have access to space Kidō, and Isuzu had also learned space Kidō from Instructor Hanazawa's Kidō notes. So if anyone asked now, Jun's explanation was airtight.

"Hahaha... You two really are something! I'm impressed!"

"Hehe, I think so too."

"All right, I can stop worrying now. I'm leaving."

"Take care. I won't see you out."