Bringing Back The Dead (Ri and Arawn)

After hours of working in the lab, Arawn would in turn spend hours working in his own personal lab. Most nights he didn't sleep until well into the morning. Thankfully he usually didn't need to get to work til noon most days. With a sigh he looked at his current project; he was trying to take the radar function of the phone and convert it into a watch. Rather than constantly pulling out his phone he would be able to communicate without wasting time fumbling with buttons. Well that was the theory at least. So far his attempts were less than successful. He leaned back in his chair rubbing his temples. There came a sound from another part of the building. He paid it no mind. The building was so old it was quite common.
"Maybe I can call in sick tomorrow." he muttered looking down at the parts scattered on the table. Arawn leaned back over work and picked up a small wielding tool. "At this rate I'll have to call in the rest of the week." he chuckled. Another sound, but this time it was different. Without turning around he reached out with his spiritual sense. Even with his feeble skill he could sense someone was in the building. In the corner of his eye, he could see his sword leaning against the wall. A fine time for him to leave it across the room. Well maybe he could bluff.
"If you come out now, I promise to let you walk out of here under your own power." he spoke without turning around "If not, I think the lab can use a new guinea pig." He could only hope the ploy worked. The real question was, who would come to him at this time of night? He slowly turned to face the door. A young woman stood in the doorway.

The normally peaceful and quite sky that was Ri inner world was now being torn apart as Ri struggled to keep his soul from entering the cycle of rebirth. What felt like years ago to Ri , he was communicating with Ciuin Cas when a member of the stealth force arrived. At first Ri thought it was a message but when the cold steel pieced his beating heart he knew it was betrayal. But though the coil of the soul died Ri hid his soul within his Zanpakuto, an genus idea but a highly flawed one as well. A zanpakuto simply can't hold a shinigami soul for long if it wasn't for Ri spirit pressure his inner world would of collapsed by now and if that happened there no telling what might happen to the soul.

“Someones picked us up” Ciuin cried joyfully from her protective stance over Ri. Ri didn't looked up, say anything or respond , if his concentration wavered even a for a second his and Ciuin's existence was over. He could feel it too, a familiar pressure was all around them holding them.
Black voids began to open in the sky around them and slowly they started to expand, Ri couldn't stop the degradation much longer. He could only hope who ever had the Zanpakuto was a friend and not a foe.

“Ri” Ciuin voice uttered with a crackly of emotion and from under her mask Ri saw something he's never seen before a tear roll down her check. The blue sky above suddenly tore away leaving only an all consuming darkness, the only sky left was that surrounding Ri and Ciuin and it was growing smaller and smaller by the moment.

Suzuka rounded the corner and peered towards the light. He could see a youngish man with messy brown hair and a lab coat mumbling to himself. She looked towards the man, he was sitting in a chair working on some odd gadget and apparently having a hard time doing so. The man seemed to have heard her approach for he called out to no one in particular, making idle threats of using her as a test subject of sorts. She didn't move, just stood there watching him until he turned around and peered at her.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your work sir. My name is Suzuka Azuma... Are you a scientist?" She felt stupid for asking considering the man was wearing a lab coat but she didn't much care about how she looked to this man, all she cared about was if he could help her or not...

Arawn let out a sigh of relief. He was glad his nighttime visitor wasn't some unknown attacker. When he thought about it, he hadn't heard of any cases of people being attacked while in the barracks. Still he couldn't help being cautious. He examined the young woman. He had to admit she was pretty. He noted the bundle she carried. Perhaps she wanted an item repaired. Any other man would be happy to have such a woman paying them a visit. But Arawn was annoyed by the disturbance not to mention the slight scare.
"Well I do consider myself a scientist, but this is not a repair shop. Despite appearances this is my home, and I don't appreciate barging in unannounced." he pushed his chair away from the desk. "If you need some work done you best come back in the morning ask the main office." He was trying his best to be polite, but it was hard to hide his ire. He stood up to show her to the door when he felt another reiatsu. He looked around in panic. Was it an attack after all? She was a decoy while someone attacked him? The room was empty. And there seemed to be no one behind her in the hallway. If he didn't know any better he'd say the second pressure had come from the woman. But that didn't make sense. Nor did it make sense for the second owner of the pressure to hide themselves. Even Arawn could tell the reiatsu was stronger than his own. It felt stronger than the woman's. It felt different. It was from the bundle she carried. A small voice in the back of head told him he should send her on her way. But the strange feeling had peaked his curiosity. "What do you have there?" he asked his voice almost a whisper. She wanted something perhaps it couldn't wait. It wasn't like he was going to go to sleep anytime soon. There would be no harm in him taking a look at least. He quickly rationalized his sudden change attitude.

Now only a small patch of sky remained in Ri's world barely enough space for both him and Ciuin to stand. He could feel his soul begin to rip and tear, it was unbareable but not unfamilar. He felt as if every bit of him was being rotted away slowly, he smell the fear off himself and he could see it in Ciuin as well. No doubt about it they were in trouble and so far there wasn't any hope.


“Ciuin…” Ri said in what was little more then a grunt. Slowly Ciuin turned to Ri and kelt down to him. She put her hand reassuringly on Ri's shoulder, she could do now more then she already had. ”I'm sorry Ciuin if I'd only been stronger”

“Stop it Ri, I'm honour to of been your Zanpakuto and I hope to meet you in the next life” Ciuin said he slowly she lifted her mask. Her face was so pale and delicated. A coloum of tears marched down her face wrenching Ri's hearth.

“I hope so too Ciuin, just remember to speak up” Ri said laughing at his own pun and to his surpise he heard a small laugh from Ciuin as she slid her mask back down. He stood up just as the sky surround them began to collapes in. In a last stroke of glory Ciuin fanned out her winging pushing back the darkness.

“Lets stand together till we can't stand any more” Ciuin said in roar as she cover Ri over with her wings. She let out another mighty roar the sky began to win back more ground, she drew on very ouch of reiatsu she. If it bought Ri ever a minute longer it was worth it for her.

Suzuka held the bundle close to her chest and began backing up. It was odd of this man to suddenly change attitude once he noticed the sword. It was possible there were orders out to seize the blade if found and kill its carrier. She looked over her shoulder towards the exit but then realized if that were the case, she'd simply be cut down trying to flee...

Then again, there was no proof that this was his intention, perhaps she could trust this man. Or rather she'd have to for there wasn't many others she could. If it came to it, she could always kill him and try to find some one else that would aid her. She stopped backing up and sighed, turning back to meet the man's gaze. Satisfied that the look in his eyes was of curiosity, not of anger or some other emotion that would confirm her fears, she slowly unraveled the cloth covering the sword.

"This is the zanpakuto of the late Captain Ri O'Nocht," Suzaka said, her voice calm and clear. "I can still feel his presence within it, as if his spirit is still bound to its core. Should this be the case..." She paused, unsure of how this would sound but then shaking her head slightly, not caring at this point. "Should this be the case I want you to try and bring it out. Restore it somehow. I want you to bring back my captain." Her face was stern, it was obvious she was completely serious about this, whether actually possible or not, she did not care. This woman was determined to complete her goal even if it killed her.

Laughter filled the make shift lab The dirty windows shook slightly. This had to be some kind of prank devised by someone in the lab. A young girl runs to his room late at night with the weapon of a former captain. If that’s not enough she wants for him to revive said captain. Tears welled up in his eyes as the fits of laughter reached it’s peak, he doubled over huffing. Wiping the wetness from his eyes he wanted to look about the room for a hidden camera or spying device. But the look on the young woman’s face showed only surprise. Which made the situation even more puzzling. She really believed that the recently dead captain was in fact alive within the sword she held. Not only that, but she believed he of all people would be able bring him back from the dead.
“Wait, you’re serious?” he spoke slumping down back into his chair. He watched the woman. Maybe the loss of her captain had driven her had driven her mad. Why else would she seek someone like the 9th seat with such a request. A part of him felt flattered and yet troubled.

“Look I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I’m no miracle worker.” in his mind he ran through all his achievements; it took all of ten seconds. “I’ve heard rumors of the feats my captain has accomplished. I heard he performed surgery on himself on a daily basis.” Arawn had believed this was a groundless rumor, but as eccentric as the rest of his squad members were he had his doubts. “Maybe you can approach him with this..” no sooner did the words come out his mouth that he saw a look of fear flash across her face. Perhaps the real reason she had come to him was that he was unknown. If it was true that that captain was alive still wouldn’t it be news for all to hear? Why so secretive? Truth be told the captain’s death was quite shrouded in mystery. The only information he had was that another captain was accused of the crime and had since escaped to the human world. The was much to be uncovered about the circumstances that surrounded the whole incident. It all seemed rather fishy. Why did the other captain kill him? Arawn shook his head and waved his hand swatting the thoughts away like a fly buzzing about his head. He had to focus on the situation before him before trying to unravel the crimes of Soul Society.

He closed his eyes to sort through the facts. Unfortunately, there weren’t any facts to work with other than the bundle she carried. There was no denying he could feel a strange reiatsu from the bundle, a strange force indeed. With only that fact he was left to create a series of hypothesizes. If the weapon was in fact the imbued with the spirit of the deceased captain was the big question. Even as he wondered how such a feat was possible he did recall how his own zanpukto had drawn him into another plane devoid of time and space of the outer world. Was it possible that as his death occurred he was within such a realm. It was unprecedented, but that didn’t mean it was impossible. But still how can one’s physical body die and one’s reiryoku survive? Therein lied the rub. Arawn had forgotten that as shinigami they had no true physical bodies. He was nothing but the soul of a man that had died composed of energy. They could breath, they could bleed, they could feel, but they weren’t human or real. His fingers tapped the table as the he pondered. Even the table wasn’t real, it was composed of reishi like everything else in the room. Particles and energy. He was a spiritual being living in a dimension parallel to earth fighting monsters. The laws of physics and rational thought should be abandoned. Ignoring the lack of the body was a given. So they were dealing with energy. In this case energy that had lost form and shape. If the captain had become energy how could one reconstruct him?

Arawn stood up and started to pace the floor. He had nearly forgotten about his project as his mind whirled. The woman watched his motion, but he had already ignored her too. The fact she hadn’t left meant she had hope that he would be of help. It was all a shallow hope probably. But Arawn felt he was onto something.
“Shikai is the development of a connection with the zanpukto, correct?” he didn’t wait for an answer, it was rhetorical. “This leads to a plan of existence that the spirit resides. Beings of great power and energy.” It was good to put his thought to words, it gave them more weight. “With Bankai we see the materialization of that spirit into the physical world, and with that an even greater power is released.” These things he had learned in books, he had yet to see it in practice. “So what if it was the reversed?” Was that essentially what had happened? A leap in phase transition; solid to plasma so to speak. How was he to reverse what shouldn’t be possible? It was like taking the water out of a water balloon, and then trying to make the water into a ball without the rubber to contain it. So they needed a container. At present the sword was a container, but it wasn’t exactly ideal. The girl wanted him back as a person. How could he reshape that energy into a solid soul? Although he was solid he knew not now to condense energy, and if he did what about details? Even if it was in the shape of a human, would it breath and live? Was he even alive now? Or was he just energy?

“I can’t create life.” He flopped back down into the chair cradling his head with his hand. He released a sigh. This his face lit up. “I can’t make a soul.” His hand moved to slap his forehead. It was true he couldn’t create life, he couldn’t control energy, nor could he make a soul. But there were ways to manipulate them all. Maybe this is what the woman sought. A chance, a small window. He grinned.
“Follow me, there might be a way.” He grabbed her by the arm before she could respond and pulled her behind him. Once outside he flashed stepped to the main lab doorway. So wrapped in though he hadn’t realized he had successfully shunpo’d with another person. His fingers danced across the keypad that opened the door and he ran down the hallway pulling the woman in tow. The whole of the area was nearly deserted. Even though it was late at night, the lab was always active. The personnel worked in shifts, even at this ungodly hour. Arawn came to a stop at a door and began knocking quite loudly.
“Simone!!!! Wake up!! I know you’re sleeping in there!” he banged against the door making a ruckus like no other. Then he stopped sounds could be heard on the other side of the door. Finally there was a click and the door opened. Standing in the doorway was a shorthaired brunette in bright pink pajamas complete with white fuzzy sleeping cap. Her multi-faucet eyes locked on Arawn and her eyebrows furrowed.
“Do you have any idea what time it is!?” she barked, then her gaze locked on the woman beside him. “And who is she?” Arawn quickly raised his hand to quiet her.
“It’s not important, you said you’d help me out no matter what. This is one of those times.”
“Well I did say that, but coming to me in the middle of the night is abit much!” she whined
“Fine! I’ll buy you lunch for a week.”
“Two weeks.” she said putting her arms across her chest.
“One week of lunch and a cake on the weekend.” Her face lit up.
“Deal!”
“Now that’s that settled, I need you to get me an empty soul candy. Meet us down in the gigai storage area.”

He grabbed the woman’s arm and ran down the hallway. The doors blurred as they made their way through the maze of doors and stairways. Until coming to a stop at a large set of double doors. “We need to find a gigai. One he’s used.” Arawn said as he pushed in the pass code and opened the doors. He had no idea what the captain looked like, he needed her to find the body. With the sword, the soul candy, and the zanpukto he might be able to do the impossible.

Nothing remained, no lights, no sounds, no senses it was all gone. Ri can been fighting against the power of the life cycle. All beings when they die their soul returns to the cycle of rebirth and to protect and balance this cycle is the duty of every shinigami and it is Ri but he couldn't let go of this life. He only had a clue of what was about to unfold but he knew he would be needed and their was to much left unwritten in his life to end now. He couldn't see or feel any part of himself, he could smell anything and he could even tell if his eyes were opened or closed, all there was an all consuming void.

“Ciuin!” Ri called but whether his voice could be heard he didn't know. He couldn't see or hear Ciuin and every second he could feel his soul being pulled into the cycle. It took all his strength to resist but it was quickly draining and now he was drawing on his own weakened life energy to remain in existence. He tried again and again to call out to Ciuin but no response was given. If he could he would of cried, Ciuin had always stood with him against unbelievable challenges and now she'd given her existence to save Ri's.

“I must survived” Ri chanted to himself over and over again. He thought of his squad and how devastated they must be, how he had to get back to them and the rest of his friends, Kaiyo, Kaoseu, Kurama. He had to get back to them, he couldn't let them face what was about to happen alone. He tried not too but thought of extracting his revenge on central forty six and how he'd expose their corruption. He had to survives, he didn't have any choice.

The young woman looked at Arawn questioningly. Not sure what the man was asking for, but couldn't help feel some relief in seeing his vigor. Perhaps she had chosen well after all. The door to the storage area opened and they stepped into the room. It was an eerie place not unlike a morgue. Only there there weren't dead bodies laying on medical tables. There were limbs by themselves with strange tubes connected to them on metal slabs, and full bodies were in tubes floating in strange liquids. A small computer and key terminal by each metallic tube monitoring the body within. There were row after row of cylinders tubes each with a gigai ready to be used. It always amazed Arawn how small the room looked from out side and yet the sheer amount of bodies it held. Against the wall by the entrance was a larger terminal, the directory.
“What was your captain’s name again?” Arawn asked as he sat down to the computer.
“Ri O'Nocht.” she responded. He stretched his hands over the keyboard and then stopped.
“Can you spell that?” he said looking back at her. She frowned. Just then the doors swung wide and Simone walked in holding a small black box. “You type it.” he muttered and quickly went to meet the pink garbed woman.

Suzuka sat down and began typing as Arawn took the box from Simone and examined the contents. Inside was a nearly transparent orb. The usual soul candy had a pearl like appearance. He smiled at the small bauble.
“Now what?” the shinigami asked behind him.
“Push enter the machine will do the rest.” he called over his shoulder while grasping the unfinished soul candy. There was a loud screech from the ceiling as a wench started moving above tubes. The mechanical arm would bring the body of the deceased captain to them in a matter of moments. He walked over to the keyboard and entered additional commands; the body would be delivered to on of the vacant tables. Arawn motioned of the two ladies to follow him as approached the gigai’s destination. Setting the candy on a side table he faced the young woman.
“These things are usually instilled with a soul almost how one would program a computer. Creating such a thing from scratch is something beyond me, but in essence if he really has become part of this blade if we can transfer him into candy. After that we transfer him into his gigai.” Simone cocked her head to the side
“Why can’t we just put him directly into the gigai? Skip that step all together.” she yawned.
“This is all theory, but I’m right it’s safer this way. He’s only energy/information he might not transfer into the gigai properly. If a single piece is missing he might never be restored, we could lose him forever.”
Both women looked at him grimly. The wench sounded from overhead as the body arrived and docked onto the table.

Arawn touched the keypad and the tube drained it’s fluids and the glass slid open. He looked at the body. The face didn’t look familiar in the lightest. It wasn’t like he had met many captains anyway.
“Touch the zanpukto to the candy.” he positioned the candy on the side table. “Now comes the hard part; you’ve got to coax him out of the blade.” Suzuka’s eyes widened with the thought of wielding the captain’s blade.
“You know him, somehow you need to connect with him inside there and push him out. It’s the only way.” She nodded and held the blade against the small crystal. Closing her eyes she said a small prayer, and then shifted her focus onto the zanpukto. She thought of her captain, memories flooded her mind as she tried to reach into the weapon. Little by little Arawn could feel her reiryoku build up around her. The woman’s breathing stared to get heavy and sweat build on her face.
“Captain.” she muttered as she squeezed her eyes harder reaching out with her power and mind with much effort. “Captain please hear me.”

The darkness engulfed him, all of his sense were destroyed. He kept his chanting going but couldn't hear the words leave his mouth or even feel his lips moving or any part of his body any more. The only thing he had left was consciousness. It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared, anyone would be scared facing the approaching oblivion and end of his being. He knew that he wouldn't even enter the cycle of rebirth and as for Ciuin, well he wasn't sure if she was gone or not. That though scared him more then his own pending doom. He could feel it, his end was very near he could taste it. Images flashed through his mind but not of his life like most people said. The image was constant, snow coloured hair that made her brown eyes vied, a cute smile that shone brighter then any sun and a loving laugh that echoed through his mind. He couldn't feel it but he knew he was crying, he made a promise that he'd have to break.

He could feel something pulling him like a signal, he couldn't explain it but he knew he had to follow. Then like a flare in the dead of night colour pierced the void. The blackness was defeated with easy by the sudden arrival of a red-orangey colour. Ri felt strong suddenly, the feeling of approaching damnation was gone and he could feel again. It was a sensation he'd never felt before, it was like he had no body but was living as purely his soul. Is this death He thought but didn't believe.

“Captain please hear me.”

He could barely hear it. It sounded like a whisper from a mile away but it was familiar and warm. He tried to call back but he couldn’t hear his own voice, he wasn't even sure if he still had one. Ri's Zanpakuto blade crack brining silence to the room then it burst into an uncountable number of pieces. The soul candy began to glow, at first it was dull barely noticeable but as the sword disintegrated the grow grew and grew till it illuminated the entire room. Suzuka knew what to do without being told, she stood up and approached the motionless body. He gentile hands she opened its mouth and slid the candy in.

Silence took over the room again and for what seemed like days nothing happened. Suzuka fell to her knee and began to weep again the table, she'd lost all hope. As she sobbed a small breeze cast the tears from her cheeks. She looked to the body, her eyes were red and drained of tears. "Captain?"

Ri felt like he was born again, he took an immense gasp of breath that filled his lungs to their breaking point and shattered the silence. His heart beat so face but it was a wonderful feeling to feel his heart beat once more. Slowly his senses returned and soon he could feel the coldness of the table, the stillness of the air and tears on his arm.

He felt so drained so much so he could barely move, every part of him felt wrong but he was so glad just to feel again he didn't care. He force his eyes opened the welcomed back the world. He knew where he was or at least in a general sense, squad twelve facilitates were unmistakeable. He looked first to Suzuka and knew immediately it was her voice that had led him from the darkness. He raised his shaking hand and brushed the tears from her smiling face.

"Tha…nk………Y…ou" He struggled to say, every simple action was so hard to do. His arms felt like lead and just keeping his eyelids opened was a battle in it's self. "Wha……ts……happ……en…d"

With a hand he kept the revived captain from moving. This was quite an amazing event. Not only had he witness the transference of a soul to an energy state, but it's return to a more corporeal form. By all intents what he had just seen could never be copied. He wouldn't honestly believe it possible if not for seeing it himself. He wanted to smile, but this was hardly the time. The process was all a gamble, it was possible the man's spirit might disperse like sand into the wind.
"Stay still, sir." he said stressing the 'sir'. This man was a captain after all, "You've just undergone a rather radical process." how could he explain it easily? The man was for all intent and purposes dead. And now he wasn't. There were questions he wanted to ask, but he knew they would have to wait.
"Arawn, what have you done?" Simone asked staring at the moving gigai. "Did you just make a mod soul and put it in that body? We can get into trouble for this."
"Not as much trouble as using gigai to play out yaoi fanfic." Arawn said giving her a sideways glance. Simone's mouth hung open and only a squeak escaped. It closed and she stared at Arawn, the turned around.
"I'm going back to bed, I must have sleep walked out here." she stated as she marched towards the doors.
"Tell Bryce to edit the camera footage, it's best this dream be kept among us." he shouted behind her. He smiled, and turned his attention back to the revived man.

"I can't fully explain it, but the end is all that matters; we've brought you back to life." he stated finally. The man had to remember his death, if not, at least knowing that he had expired at one point. "Right now you're in a gigai, but your real spiritual body is in a bit of flux. So for now I'd suggest keeping that gigai on until you've completely restored yourself. Think of it like a cast, it's protecting you while you heal." It was an easy enough explanation. "Another captain has been accused of your death, but I don't think we should just parade you in front of the Captain Commander. We should wait until you're completely healed." He took one of the sheets from a nearby table and draped it over the naked man.
"Let's get you out of here." Arawn tucked his arm under the man's shoulder and nodded to the female to do the same. Together they held the former captain between them and made way out of the storage area. Silently Arawn wondered how well the procedure had gone. Right now the man was three parts; a mod soul, a spirit, and a gigai. The soul candy was his core, the spirit slowly restoring and the gigai to hold and shield them. The three quietly moved out of the lab building and made progress to Arawn's private lodgings. Once inside with the woman's help they lay the man onto a long table.
"I suggest he rest for now. I'm the only one that lives here, people don't come here often." He ran to his closet and dug through the clothes. There were some things the man might be able to wear. It wasn't like he was going out, but he couldn't leave the poor man naked. "Once you get your strength back we can try to find some other place for you to hide. I don't think it's wise for you to remain here too long."

With some help he managed to put on Arawns spare uniform, it felt so wrong wearing it again but at least he wasn't cold again. He felt so strange, like he was distant from his body somehow. He looked into Suzuka red swollen eyes and smiled. "Thank…you Suzuka,."

"Where Captain, eat this " Suzuka said as she offered Ri two rejuvenation pills. Again with help he swallowed both and waited for them to take affect. He'd use these pills before and knew their affects wouldn't take long to kick in and sure enough after a few minutes Ri felt stronger, full of energy. "I'm indebted to both of you, I won't forget this"

"Suzuka, I need you to go a head of me and open the squads gate the way I showed you. Don't talk to anyone and if anything happens run to the barracks" Ri asked more then orders, his voice was more normal now. Suzuka, smiled broadly then took off in a flash. She never thought she'd be taking orders from her Captain again, she was so happy but wasn't with fear because she knew Ri was still in danger.

"Do you've a central database terminal around here, I need to find out what’s happened since……" Ri asked looking toward Arawn. Idea flooded Ri's mind, he thought about going to Kurama or Kaiyo but thought better of it for in his current shape he was an easy target for even a academy student. He knew what he'd have to do, escape to the living worlds till his strength and powers return it was really the only option.

"I do have an access terminal." Arawn mentioned as he walked over to the small computer in corner of his sleeping area. He sometimes used it as an alarm clock. "Using my password you can get some general information." he entered his code and the screen lit up. "Just be careful what you look at. They do monitor our use of the system. If you do something to suspicious they might start watching me." That was something he would like to avoid. He was sure something about this whole situation was dangerous. The dead captain, and the fugitive captain. There was alot more going on that they were being told. Arawn was almost happy knowing this much. Still his curious nature wanted more.

"It will be alright" Ri said as he move to the terminal. He could already feel the rejuvenation pills beginning to working, he was already talking more naturally and able to walk unassisted. He was glad, he knew he'd have to get out of the society and fast but first he had to know what events his death and made occur. Ri was confident his friends wouldn't let his death go reinvestigated. "I'll use my Captains access codes, they wouldn't be monitor that. It's not like the dead can use computers"

Ri sat silently reading, the shock kept him from talking.' Suicide, no one would believe that' Ri thought in disbelief, his friends would never believe that and in truth he was surprised with the flimsy cover story. "Kurama?" Ri said as he read over the information twice to be sure.

"He must of investigated and got caught up in this mess" Ri said as he rubbed his eyes. It had only hit him then, he couldn't hear ciuin or feel any sign of her in his mind. He was going to have but wait and have faith that Ciuin would come back.

"You'd be better off forgetting this night" Ri said as he stood up. His voice was serious with a hit of stress, the road ahead of his was going to be long and hard but at least now he knew what to do. He was going to have find Kurama but first he'd have to get to the living world. "I'm in your debt I hope I'll be able to repay you one day. Thank you"

"Don't mention it." Arawn said frankly. Honestly he really didn't want the anyone to know what he had done. "I really wish I could forget everything. But I'm in whatever is happening. At best I can hope to keep my head down and it will blow over me, but I've never been that lucky." he gave a small chuckle. Luck was indeed something he was short on.
"I'm not sure what you're going to do next, it's probably best you don't tell me." He held up his hand to stop any comments. "I will tell you this; be careful. Right now you're a mess. Even if you feel well now, you were dead moments ago. You were nothing, but energy trapped within your zanpukto. Now you're energy held within that gigai. I'm not even sure if we can remove you from that body. You might just fade into the ether. If you get into a fight, run. Even with that body you might not be able to summon even 1/8 of your previous power." It wasn't a good situation to be in, but he had a feeling the man would fight even if he told him not to. "Wait right here."

Arawn exited the room and came back second later with satchel. He open the bag and revealed a round orb. "It's a stun grenade." he said turning the softball size sphere in his hand. "Press the button, toss, then run. I only have the one left. It will be a week before I finish another one." It wasn't much, but it might come in handy.

"Thanks, I best go before I'm found" Ri said as he moved to the door. He turned back briefly to flash a smile at Arawn then faded into the darkness of the night. He'd forgotten just how far the squad 13 barracks was away before now it would of only taking him second using shunpo but he didn't have that luxury. He tried his best to look natural after all with his appearance changed and being assumed dead no one was on the watch for him.

It took his an hour to reach his old barrack. Suzuka had done what RI had asked, the squad gate was opened and if she'd done everything right no one would be able to detect it or determine where it lead if they did find out. Suzuka was stand beside the gate waiting for Ri's arrival and waved to him as she approached.

"Suzuka I need to ask one more thing of you" Ri said speaking softly and more as a friend then as he Captain. " I want you to pretend that nothing happened. Don’t tell anyone I survived or that it was who revived me. When the time come I'll need you and the squads help but till then keep you head down and watch over the squad."

"Yes sir" She squeaked while trying to hold back her tears, she'd revived Ri only to see him go again but at least he was alive for that much she was happy. Ri embraced her for a moment then headed on through the gate. His first job was to find Kurama but how he'd do that while in his Gigi he didn't know but he'd have to try.