The bright white halls of Squad 4's healing ward were unnervingly silent, save for the soft hum of kido-infused equipment. Urahara stepped through the doors, carrying Mohit slung over his shoulder, his expression unreadable beneath his ever-present hat.
Isane (hurrying over):"Third Seat Urahara! What happened?! His spiritual pressure is—completely erratic!"Urahara (waving her off with a sheepish grin):"Oh, nothing too serious. He, uh… fell off the hill."Isane (blinking in disbelief):"…Fell?"Urahara (scratching the back of his head):"Yup. Tumbled right down Sōkyoku Hill. Quite the clumsy guy, isn't he? Anyway, I leave him in your capable hands, Lieutenant Kotetsu."
He set Mohit gently onto a medical bed and turned to leave, his smile lingering just long enough to mask the concern behind it.Isane (muttering):"I'm not buying that for a second."She immediately called for diagnostic tools, her kido glowing blue as it scanned Mohit's body. Within moments, her eyes widened.Isane:"This is… no fall injury. His brain shows signs of intense neural strain—coma-level pressure. And this scar…"She carefully lifted the edge of his tattered uniform. A long, brutal scar ran diagonally across his chest, still pink from half-healed flesh. Another gash lined his side, closed by something that wasn't kido. The texture was almost… woven?
Isane:"This wasn't healed by us. What kind of regeneration is this?"Without wasting a second, she called for Captain Unohana.
Golden rays of the setting sun spilled through the slatted windows, casting quiet shadows across the tatami floor. The room smelled faintly of ink, old paper, and the floral bite of sake. Captain Shunsui Kyōraku sat reclined in his chair, one sandal lazily kicked off, a half-filled cup of sake in his hand.
The peace was broken by a soft, polite knock.
Nanao (from beyond the door):
"Captain Kyōraku. Lieutenant Isane from Squad 4 requests to speak with you. She says it's urgent."
Shunsui (sighing, eyes still on the ceiling):
"Mmm… urgent things never wait for a good drink. Let her in."
The door slid open, and Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu stepped into the room, composed and respectful, but her face was tight—strained. Her hands were clasped around a sealed document.
Isane (bowing):
"Captain Kyōraku. Thank you for seeing me."
Shunsui (smiling faintly):
"For you, Isane-chan, always. But I have a feeling this isn't a social visit."
Isane (nodding gravely):
"I'm here on behalf of Captain Unohana, regarding Lieutenant Mohit. He was brought into Squad 4 today… unconscious. Third Seat Kisuke Urahara of Squad 2 carried him in."
Shunsui's hand froze halfway to his cup. The relaxed air around him seemed to tense.
Shunsui (softly):
"Unconscious? Why didn't anyone from Squad 8 report—?"
Isane (cutting gently):
"He came directly to us. Captain… his condition was critical."
She unsealed the document and laid a series of spiritual scan reports, wound charts, and reiatsu graphs on his desk.
Isane:
"He was bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose. His spiritual pressure was nearly gone, like it had been wrung dry. Further scans showed signs of massive cerebral strain. Captain Unohana believes he may have attempted to unlock Bankai… and pushed far past his limit."
Shunsui leaned forward now, face calm, but unreadable.
Shunsui:
"…Bankai? That stubborn brat."
Isane (continued):"There were also two distinct wounds. The first—on his chest, directly above the heart—was once fatal, but has since healed entirely. Oddly… it wasn't through medical kido. Captain Unohana is convinced the wound regenerated by some unknown inner power. Possibly connected to his Zanpakutō."Nanao (stepping forward, eyes sharp):"Regeneration from the Zanpakutō spirit? That's… unheard of."Isane (nodding):"Yes. The second wound—along the left side of his torso—also appears self-inflicted, or sustained in combat. It's half-healed. But again, through the same anomalous method."Shunsui (low voice):"So he was fighting… maybe with his spirit. He stabbed himself above the heart?"Isane (firmly):"Yes. That's what the evidence suggests. There's something else…"She hesitated before continuing.Isane:"Captain Unohana believes his coma is a result of a spiritual backlash. A mental collapse, due to over-connection with his Shikai's extended abilities. Too many threads in his mind… too many spiders, if you will."Shunsui exhaled slowly and leaned back in his chair, hands steepled.Shunsui:"…I warned him. Told him to wait. That his path was long—but no, he wanted to run before he could walk."Isane:"With respect, Captain… I don't think this was recklessness. I think he was desperate."The room went quiet. Outside, a breeze rustled the cherry trees beyond the window.Nanao (softly):"Should we notify the Central 46 about the incident?"Shunsui (voice hardening slightly):"No."Both women turned toward him.Shunsui:"Not until we understand what exactly happened. If they think he's unstable, they'llbury him in paperwork and fear. Or worse—lock him away."He stood, brushing back his pink haori, his eyes no longer lazy but sharp.
The scent of cherry-wood and old books filled the air. Shunsui Kyōraku sat at his desk, the pale golden light of the late afternoon casting long shadows behind him. A cup of sake rested untouched at his side. Nanao had just left after delivering Isane's report, and he hadn't moved since.
The silence was broken again.
Lisa (poking her head in):
"Captain. Yoruichi-taichō and Third Seat Urahara from Squad 2 are outside. She says it's urgent."
Shunsui (exhaling softly):
"…Let them in."
The door slid open, and the contrast in personalities entered like night and day. Urahara wore his typical faint smile, fan in hand, while Yoruichi's face was tight and unreadable, her movements uncharacteristically restrained.
Yoruichi (bowing respectfully):
"Kyōraku-taichō. I assume you've been briefed on Mohit's condition?"
Shunsui (calmly):
"Yes. Isane gave me the facts. Now I'd like to hear the truth."
Urahara (waving his fan slowly):
"Well… the truth is complicated."
Yoruichi (cutting in, her voice low and controlled):
"I'll tell you. All of it. And I'll say this first—I take full responsibility."
Shunsui (leaning forward):
"I'm listening
Yoruichi took a breath, her golden eyes briefly darting to Urahara, then to the wooden floor.Yoruichi:"It started beneath Sōkyoku Hill. Kisuke was about to enter the old training grounds. We've kept the entrance sealed with high-level kido for decades. But Mohit found it."Shunsui (raising an eyebrow):"He's blind."
Urahara (lightly):"That didn't stop him. His shikai spiders covered the entire hill in silence. They acted as his eyes—mapped every inch. He saw through our illusion."Yoruichi:"He confronted Kisuke at the entrance. I arrived moments later. He didn't force anything—he asked. For Bankai training. Not the slow path, but the Tenshintai."Shunsui's brow furrowed. Shunsui:"The forbidden method?"
Yoruichi (nodding):
"I told him what it meant. Three days. Force your zanpakutō spirit into the physical world. Subjugate it or die. He didn't flinch. I should have stopped him."
She clenched her fists.
Yoruichi (quietly):
"I didn't. I let him do it."
Shunsui (softly):
"And his zanpakutō?"
Urahara (lowering his fan):
"…Supaidāgoddo. It manifested as a twelve-foot-tall beast. Three faces—one forward, two to the sides. Power like I've never seen. It scolded Mohit for trying to control it… and nearly killed him."
Yoruichi:
"The fight was brutal. Supaidāgoddo used his shikai—better than Mohit ever had. A thousand spiders, traps made from silk, regeneration. Mohit lost his left hand, took a deep slash across the chest.
Urahara:
"But then… he understood what the spirit meant. 'Keep me close to your heart.'"
Yoruichi (closing her eyes):
"He stabbed himself. Through the heart."Shunsui leaned back slowly, the wooden chair creaking under him.Shunsui:"He what?
Urahara:
"With his own sword. His spiders entered his body through the wound. Crawled in through his mouth, ears, wounds—everywhere. I thought we'd lost him."
Yoruichi
"But they didn't kill him. They rebuilt him. From the inside out."
Urahara (more serious now):
"His regeneration is… biological. Not kido. The spiders replace damaged cells. They formed a new arm. The chest wound sealed on its own. That's when we knew—he had survived the ritual. And something inside him had changed."
Shunsui stayed silent.
Yoruichi (guilt cracking her voice):
"I should've stopped there. But he asked for a sparring duel—with Kisuke. Said he wanted to test his limits."
Urahara (nodding):
"He controlled 500 spiders at once. Formed clones. His traps were faster, denser. But his control slipped. I slashed him—and the spiders healed it. But when he tried to link to all of them at once…"
Yoruichi:
"His body couldn't take it. He screamed—collapsed. Blood poured from his eyes, ears. His brain couldn't process the influx. He was unconscious before he hit the ground."
Urahara:
"I rushed him to Squad 4. Told them he slipped off a hill."
Yoruichi (bowing deeply):
"I take full responsibility. I let him do it. I watched him suffer, and I failed to stop him. This is on me, Kyōraku-taichō."
A long silence.Then:Shunsui (his voice low) "…That boy. That blind boy."He stood, walking slowly toward the window. The late sun made his shadow long.
Shunsui (softly):"I brought him into Squad 8 because I thought he'd bring peace. That maybe he'd walk in rhythm with the wind."