Three days later, Kisuke finally woke up. Immediately sitting up and raising his arms, he shouted out, "I'm alive~!"
But as he did so, the veins and muscle tissue in his arms suddenly ruptured, spurting blood everywhere before his forearm bones made snapping sounds, "Oya?"
Around him, everyone was present and were making two distinct expressions. While Yoruichi and Kuroka were shocked, the rest of the Astraea Familia and Astraea herself were horrified at the sight of his arms suddenly being mangled.
The first one to move was Yoruichi with her immediately taking out two Elixirs and pouring both of them on Kisuke's arms while Kuroka hurriedly used magic to clean up the splattered blood and bits of flesh that were scattered around.
While Yoruichi blocked everyone's sight of Kisuke's arms with her body, Kisuke promptly went ahead and did a quick self-diagnosis. The first thing he noticed was that the Elixir wasn't actually affecting his wounds and would just slip off. However, as if he was in his full Vasto Lorde form, his arms started regenerating themselves without any input from Kisuke, and after a few seconds, his mangled arms were no more.
Going wider with his diagnosis, he immediately came to know that he couldn't use any Magic, Ki, or any of his Soul techniques. But after thinking about it, Kisuke thought that was normal. Even though the new type of energy coursing through his very being was a congregation of Demonic Power, Ki and Spiritual Power, it still followed a different set of rules.
As for his body, when his arms were broken like frail twigs, it didn't actually mean it got weaker. In fact, his body became a lot stronger in addition to his improved regeneration even outside of his transformation, making him invulnerable to most things. It was just that his new energy's circulation was too wild even for his vastly improved body.
By just simply swinging his arms and subconsciously using the method of control he was using for his Reiatsu-Ki, the new energy immediately exploded and mangled his arms, 'This is going to be tough...'
All of a sudden, however, Yoruichi flicked his forehead. Nursing his forehead, Kisuke looked at Yoruichi, "What?"
"You've got a large grin on your face. What's up?"
Touching his face, Kisuke felt that the corners of his lips were curled upwards before replying, "Nothing much. It's just that I'm about to learn something new again~!"
Technically, Kisuke became strong after the transformations that the Hougyoku had done to him. However, thanks to those transformations, especially to the type of energy that he used, he effectively became weaker as he couldn't use any of his techniques and could only rely on his durability, but was easily mangled through accidental self-destruction.
He could, of course, always relearn everything. However, unlike with Magic and Ki, Kisuke didn't have any references that he could use as this new type of energy transcended all the properties of Spirit, Magic and Ki. It would take a short while to regain his former combat prowess.
On the flip side, Kisuke estimated that even if someone were to cut his body into a thousand pieces, he still would be able to safely regenerate without any problems, making him almost an immortal. On top of that, even if he were to recover his former combat prowess, it wouldn't just stop at that. His progress would continue until he hit another bottleneck.
As such, the disadvantages and advantages of the transformation, or more accurately described as a chrysalis, became very clear. For Kisuke, however, the disadvantages were the ones that actually made him happy.
If he needed to learn something, then it means that it was something new. And learning about this new thing meant that new perspectives, insights, and discoveries were soon to follow, which would in turn increase the things that Kisuke could actually do outside of combat.
But much less than all of that, Kisuke really just enjoyed learning new things. Unlike Aizen who sought more power, Kisuke was a person who sought more knowledge.
Yoruichi sighed at his answer and said, "Take it easy... It seems really dangerous."
"My case is actually very safe...", replied Kisuke before grabbing his Zanpakuto.
Now that he couldn't control his power, it was actually Benihime who was keeping the blade's shape. If she were to leave it to Kisuke who couldn't do anything right now, it would just uncontrollably expand to suit his energy reserves.
Kisuke tried talking to Benihime but all he got was an angry aura reply. Benihime, compared to Kisuke, was in a much more difficult state. Even when Kisuke had changed his energy reserves to that of Reiatsu-Ki to also accommodate his physical body, it didn't affect Benihime who was a purely Spiritual Being.
But after the incident three days ago, Benihime had to accept the change or risk Kisuke dying from his physical body and soul body fusing permanently. As she had to become the linking bridge for the two, she had no choice but to be converted to suit the new energy type more.
Of course, this change didn't just bring advantages but also similar disadvantages to Benihime. Compared to Kisuke, however, Benihime didn't have any prior experiences with controlling a different type of energy, and much worse, this change technically overwrote her entire existence as a Zanpakuto. Both Kisuke and Benihime thought that they were extremely lucky that Benihime was able to keep what makes her, 'her'.
As such, Benihime was also having a tough time controlling her own powers to such a grade, that she couldn't even speak to Kisuke and could only let out an angry and frustrated aura.
With his arms fully healed, Yoruichi separated from him and Kisuke also slowly and carefully stood up, facing the people he was unfamiliar with, "Good afternoon, everyone. My name's Kisuke Urahara. It's a pleasure to meet you, ladies."
As he couldn't materialize his Shihakusho, Kisuke was currently wearing an attire that was typical of this world, linen clothing, that Yoruichi and Kuroka had put on to him.
"N-nice to meet you, too, Kisuke Urahara. I'm Astraea. It's great to see that you're finally awake after three days of rest, however, those arms... Are you truly fine?"
Even as he moved and spoke, Kisuke was trying all sorts of things to control the wild energy inside of him. So to not cause another explosion of blood and flesh, Kisuke carefully raised his left arm, but fast and fluid enough to not to warrant any unnecessary worries, "Astraea-sama, is it? Sounds really familiar. Thank you for asking, but I'm really fine. See?"
Still not convinced, Astraea asked, "B-but what happened earlier?"
At this point in time, Kisuke finally recalled where he heard Astraea's name. However, instead of mentioning that, he answered Astraea's question, "You see, I was cursed before coming to this land. This curse would spontaneously hurt me, but it would also cure me. Until this curse is lifted, I'll be suffering from the pain it will continue to bring."
Astraea's children became even more horrified by his story. As Mercenaries, they've already experienced breaking a few bones, but they couldn't imagine the torment they would receive if they were in Kisuke's shoes.
Of course, Astraea caught this lie but she didn't point it out as it was not her right to know what it truly was, "Is that so... If there's something we could do to lift that curse, please don't hesitate to ask us. We'll do our best to assist you."
Editors:
28th00: Ah, I can just see comments where people are going to absolutely fucking SCREAM about nerfs, but here I am going “But, he’s pretty much OP and immune to damage right now though?” seriously. Kisuke is fine, if a bit explosive currently… Once he figures out how to control his new energy without accidentally making himself explode or rupture, he’ll be pretty much untouchable in melee combat at the very least. Magic or w/e we’re gonna call his esoteric abilities though? That’ll take a bit longer, just a bit. GOOD THING WE ALREADY GAVE MEDUSA HER NEW BODY FIRST! That’d be bad.
Alexander: Wow, the Princess’ pride is really hurt now. I really hope that her yandere tendencies don’t enter legendary rank. Although, seeing Kisuke being in a pinch is amusing in its own way.
After a round of introductions, Yoruichi told Kisuke about the help they provided and Astraea's friendly relation with Hestia.
Thinking for a bit, Kisuke suddenly asked Yoruichi and Kuroka, "How many Elixirs do you have?"
"Just two.", answered Yoruichi.
"Three with me.", added Kuroka.
Since Kisuke couldn't access his inventory currently, he could only rely on Yoruichi and Kuroka's own inventories. However, since they're not 'Kisuke', they didn't amass random things.
Closing his eyes, Kisuke rubbed his chin while muttering for everyone to hear, "Hmm... That's a shame. I don't have enough to give you a box."
Hearing that, Astraea immediately panicked, "Stop that! Yoruichi and Kuroka already saved my children and that's more than enough!"
Meanwhile, Astraea's children were shocked at his remark, 'H-he really did think about giving a box of those Elixirs...', was what they all thought.
"Then how about this? You can request me any one thing and I'll personally fulfill it? Of course, under the impression that I'll be able to do it."
Shaking her head, Astraea replied, "You don't have to. As I said, what Yoruichi and Kuroka have done was more than enough and I still think that we're indebted to them."
Behind her, Mildred, Cecil, April and Liz all nodded in unison.
"Please accept it Astraea-sama.", Yoruichi suddenly chimed in, "This guy is one of the more stubborn people out there and won't stop doing this. Just accept it and you don't even have to request him anything."
Astraea thought about her words and indeed, she could just simply accept Kisuke's offer and forget about it. Sighing, Astraea finally nodded to the smiling Kisuke, "I gladly accept it. Thank you."
"If you ever need something, please don't hesitate to tell me~." For Kisuke, it was enough for her to accept his offer. In any case, if they were to come across a 'problem' they would certainly remember this.
"Now then, Astraea-sama. Thank you again for everything, but we have to leave now.", Kisuke suddenly changed the subject.
Astraea immediately disagreed, "Now? It's already afternoon and traveling at this time of the day won't be advisable. On top of that, you've just woken up and haven't even eaten anything. You should rest and regain your stamina first."
Kisuke stood up and looked outside, "We're fine. As you've probably noticed, Yoruichi and Kuroka are pretty strong and I do have my own expertise. We're also already behind on our projected schedule so we have to move on."
Yoruichi and Kuroka also stood up and started packing up.
Seeing Kisuke's expression, Astraea sighed, "Fine... But be careful out there. I would hate to hear of something bad happening to Hestia's children."
"Thank you."
Since they didn't have much, to begin with, Yoruichi and Kuroka were able to pack everything up within just two minutes. The Astraea Familia accompanied the three until they reached the gates of the village.
After saying their final farewells, Kisuke, Yoruichi and Kuroka took the direct path towards the city of Pandemonium.
Once they were out of their sights, Mildred asked Astraea, "Yoruichi and Kuroka are going to be fine, but won't there be some problems for that guy?"
Astraea smiled and answered, "They are going to be just fine."
"But for them to leave just like that... It seems that they're really in a hurry. Too bad... Astraea-sama has been looking forward to hearing about Ryuu-senpai from him as apparently, he knew more about her than those two.", muttered Cecil.
Looking at the direction of the far distant Orario, Astraea replied as a gentle wind blew her face, "Don't worry about it. We'll have more chances later on."
Astraea, however, knew that Kisuke was lying about being in a hurry due to being behind the schedule, but she also noticed that he seemed to be enduring something so she didn't force them to stay for a while.
"That's true...", Mildred nodded in agreement before turning towards her fellow Familia members, "Alright, let's go home and rest up early. Thanks to Yoruichi and Kuroka, we were able to clear the monsters within the surroundings of the village, giving us plenty of time. However, we should still hurry as this isn't the only village suffering from the increased number of monster attacks, so we should move to the next one early tomorrow."
" " "Roger!" " ", answered the three in unison before Liz suddenly raised a question, "How about the mysterious mist that suddenly enveloped the forest three days ago? We still don't know anything about it."
"Cecil already sent a letter to Pandemonium regarding this matter and other Familias within the vicinity should have too. A well-equipped Familia should arrive any time now to investigate so let's not worry about this unknown problem."
April, on the other hand, turned to Astraea and asked, "What about you, Astraea-sama? What do you think about this strange incident?"
Astraea shook her head, "I don't have any idea what it was. Maybe it was a rare kind of magic that went wrong or maybe something else entirely.", but truth to be told, Astraea had a feeling that this phenomenon had something to do with Kisuke, Yoruichi and Kuroka. But as usual, she didn't reveal her thoughts about them.
.
.
.
Deep within the forest, the three suddenly stopped walking as Kisuke started bleeding throughout his body, "Crap... This is harder than I thought."
Kuroka wanted to touch him but stopped her hand mid-air, "A-are you really going to be fine, nyaa? You won't suddenly drop dead on us, would you?" Since she didn't know what was going on, she couldn't help but be extremely worried.
Kisuke only chuckled as his wounds suddenly started closing up as if the time was being rewound on him, "Don't worry. After that incident, I actually became a lot harder to kill. I presume that even if you separate my head from my body, I would still be fine."
However, after that remark, Kisuke flinched at the angry glare that he received from the two of them, "Even if that is true, please don't ever do that... Not even as a joke.", declared Kuroka. Both of them knew that Kisuke might really try severing his head, but between Yoruichi and Kuroka, the latter was much more furious due to the fact that she wasn't really used to Kisuke's dangerous antics.
Raising both of his hands in surrender, Kisuke replied, "Okay. I promise I won't do that." Not wanting to be in this awkward situation anymore, Kisuke immediately changed the topic, "However, thanks to my condition, I will have to relearn all of my daily activities like a baby. With that, you'll have to be my bodyguards, until I can fight back without accidentally killing my opponents."
"So how are you going to learn how to move around? By just simply walking?", asked Yoruichi.
"Of course not! There's no better teacher than experience, be it a success or a failure! So to start with, let's go bash some monster heads before teleporting back."
"That's learning how to run before you can walk, nyaa!!!", retorted Kuroka.
Editors:
28th00: Ah, if you’re an immortal regenerator, it quite literally is easiest to learn the most dangerous and fastest way compared to slow and methodical. No embarrassing Ryuu stories though, sadly. But hey, Ryuu would probably be happy to hear about her Familia being heroes to the innocent!
Alexander: Don’t ask me why, but I just imagined the scene of Kisuke getting ‘killed’ to tease his opponent and holding his head while saying, “Decapitation!!!…...Not.”, with the voice of Borat.