With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Izaya laid there as he listened to the captain's reaction to the news of what had happened to his reiatsu. It seemed that she wasn't all that surprised by the possibility of it. Running the figures quickly, Izaya supposed that it wasn't too much of a stretch to assume that maybe she'd seen something like this beforehand. Yukishiro taichou was the captain of the division which dealt with that sort of thing, after all. What's more, she even called him a "budding talent" which really didn't help his ego. He pictured himself "budding" now that he was able-bodied again.
"Don't worry, Izaya-san, I won't tell anyone. We might be in my home, but doctor-patient confidentiality still applies, even here."
SHIT! Having completely forgotten about the concept of doctor-patient confidentiality, Izaya was a lot more worried than he really should've been. If he had only remembered that he would've been a lot better off in his whole ordeal. Oh well, it was done and he couldn't do a damn thing to change it now.
"Thank you, Yukishiro-taichou."
As he spoke, he noticed that the healing was almost done. It felt...great. The bruising on his abdomen had even healed up. This was incredible. He didn't know if Yukishiro-taichou was so much better at this than Kin or if it was simply because his arm was back now. Either way, this relief was much more efficient than the kind he had gotten before. It was amazing.
Then, things turned back to Kin. Oh good. Apparently Yukishiro's advice was that he just stayed away and gave space. A slight frown appeared on the face of the small Shinigami as he mulled over the prospect of waiting forever. Kin would do that to him too. It wasn't that she wanted to, at least he hoped that wasn't it. It was...it was because she was still struggling with her own feelings. Izaya knew what that was like; he would still be like that if he hadn't almost died.
Yukishiro-taichou went on to describe how Kin was young, which was true. And everything else she said about Kin was probably true as well. It would take her a while to open up and it would be so easy for him to hurt her if she did open up. That kind of scared him in a sense. He didn't want to hurt her; he actually cared about her.
"Please sit up, I would like to do a final diagnostic test to see whether the work is complete."
Izaya complied, actually with ease. His ribs seemed to be completely healed. He gave a wide grin at the captain as he maintained this upright position. It was really a good feeling to know that he was whole again. Not just with his arm, but now he had full use of his body again.
Suzuka smiled gently as Izaya sat up seemingly without pain. That was a good sign. All the superficial bruising had disappeared, and the skin around the areas showed no signs of scarring or leftover injury. Placing her hand on his chest, she felt it rise and fall with each breath, noticing the lack of struggle or pain with the movement. That was good; it meant that his ribs have fully healed.
"Everything seems to be in good condition, Izaya-san," she said, standing up, "However, I will have to ask you to stay here for a moment. There is something I need to do first before you leave."
With another small smile, the white-haired woman exited the room, sliding the door closed behind her as she left. Walking to the middle of the outer antechamber, she noticed a small, yet highly decorated bento box sitting on the table, with a bowl of miso soup on the side, and a pair of chopsticks resting atop it. Her teapot had also been replaced, as smoke gently billowed out of the spout. She had almost forgotten that it was nearly time for dinner, and that one of the family servants must've known she was pre-occupied and left the food for her to eat when she was finished.
That was perfect. It meant she didn't have to go out and get the food herself.
Picking up the tray, Suzuka carefully balanced it on one hand as she slid the door to the makeshift clinic once more. "Izaya-san, you must eat. With your ribs fully healed, there should be no problem with consuming solid foods. You haven't eaten anything solid in quite some time, correct?"
She set the tray in front of him and smiled again, this one fully intent on forcing him to eat it if he refused, "It's salmon teriyaki with rice and vegetables, miso soup, and a few rolls of maki. Please finish it all when I return."
With that final smile, the captain turned and walked out of the room once more.
"Everything seems to be in good condition, Izaya-san," she said, standing up, "However, I will have to ask you to stay here for a moment. There is something I need to do first before you leave."
Izaya looked over at the white-haired captain before smiling weakly. He was all better. His rib cage was healed up; he could do anything now. He could be a real Shinigami again. This meant the world to him, and he had a feeling that he wasn't the only one who it would elate. However, he didn't want to think about that right now. He wasn't emotionally ready to deal with that reunion. That would take a little time.
However, he was curious as to what to the captain of the fourth division wanted him to do. There was no real reason for him to stay unless he would need some sort of medication to keep his current state of wellness. Maybe he had some sort of medical or physical regimen he'd have to follow. Either of those seemed likely enough for him to have to stay in this manor for. He just sat up with a small feeling of contentment as Yukishiro-taichou left the room for something.
"Izaya-san, you must eat. With your ribs fully healed, there should be no problem with consuming solid foods. You haven't eaten anything solid in quite some time, correct?"
The captain had returned with a tray of food. That made sense as well. She wanted him to take in nutrients from actual solid food. Not just soup for once. Wait, she wanted him to eat something other than soup? What was this witchcraft? Well, you had to try everything eventually he supposed.
"I haven't had anything solid in quite some time Yukishiro-taichou."
"It's salmon teriyaki with rice and vegetables, miso soup, and a few rolls of maki. Please finish it all when I return."
Izaya smiled at this as the tray was set in front of him. Then he looked at Yukishiro-taichou and offered her a wide grin which didn't hurt him in the slightest. She actually cared enough about his well-being to offer him solid food to see if he could get it down. That might actually be the ultimate test on his rib cage. It had been about two months since he had last eaten solid food. This was long in the making.
"Thank you Yukishiro-taichou."
With that, he began to eat one of the maki rolls. It was light but still solid. If it hurt too much, he would stick to the soup. If not, he'd move on to the salmon. He nibbled on the roll and swallowed slowly. Something was wrong; something was missing. It was pain. There was only the sensation of taste. This was amazing. It was invigorating. He began to eat like a crazed animal. It had been a long two months without anything solid. The small Shinigami took advantage of the absence of the captain.
He didn't have to eat like a noble without company.
With a small parcel in her hands, Suzuka returned to her bed chambers after a rather lengthy period of time. She did this not only to give Izaya some time to finish his food, as she knew how awkward it is to eat around strangers when famished, but also to search for a little something.
She had seen Izaya rip his jacket to shreds when she had asked him to remove it. He didn't seem to have any other clothing on him, and it would be rude of her if he left without a shirt.
"Izaya-san, I'm coming in," she said, before sliding the door open to the side room. "I hope the food was to your liking." She smiled as she set the parcel on the ground beside him, before taking a seat on the cushion nearby.
"I've brought a kimono for you to wear," she explained, motioning towards the wrapped bundle, "I'm not quite sure of your size, but I'm confident it'll fit. And don't worry, I've made sure it doesn't have my family's crest on it."
She knew how fickle people were when it came to families and mons, and the nobility were the worst. If an outsider walked around wearing the crest of the Yukishiro, her parents would be outraged. That would cause a lot of headaches that Suzuka really had no time for.
So, like any sensible person would do, Suzuka raided (with permission) one of her cousins' closet and took one of his crest-less kimono. She hoped it fit. If not, Izaya would just have to wear one of hers, and she was rather sure men didn't particularly like wearing pink flower-embroidered yukatas.
Well, except for Kyoraku-taichou but he was just...special.
At this, Izaya nodded that the food was. Well, it was the first solid food he'd had in a while; he was bound to be a little biased. It wasn't like he was having any exquisite meals any more. Therefore, he wasn't really in the mindset to be overly critical of any food that came his way. As such, he had eaten it happily and hadn't compared it to the things he had eaten as a child with the Yotogi clan. He compared the meals he hadn't eaten in two months.
"It was delicious Yukishiro-taichou, thank you. I really have forgotten what it's like to eat solid food. Every now and again."
"I've brought a kimono for you to wear. I'm not quite sure of your size, but I'm confident it'll fit. And don't worry, I've made sure it doesn't have my family's crest on it."
Izaya just now noticed the package. Having not paid attention when the captain had entered the room, he admitted now that the bundle could honestly be anything and a kimino wasn't unlikely. However, not noticing wasn't what had bothered him the most. What had bothered him the most was the fact that she obviously knew the fact that he didn't want anything to do with a noble family anymore.
Anyone who knew what had transpired could have easily made that assumption. However, Izaya hadn't told anyone. He just "politely" told people of the change in his surname. For all they knew, he had been born a bastard. However, Yukishiro-taichou seemed to know what had happened and was sensitive to the situation. He mentally thanked her for that; doing so verbally would only complicate matters.