Chapter 35: Ways to Treat Hisana |
The Second Division barracks.
Yeruashi and Lilith slowly returned to their residence after leaving the Captain-Commander's office.
Hisana, dressed in an elegant and clean kimono, greeted Yeruashi and Lilith as soon as they entered the house and removed their wooden sandals. "Welcome back, Mr. Yeruashi."
Hisana had been deeply worried about Yeruashi's safety, as he had left the Seireitei for over a week this time. She felt a profound sense of relief the moment he returned home safe and sound.
"Big brother's back!"
Barefoot, Rukia ran into the hallway with a joyful shout and threw herself at Yeruashi with open arms.
Yeruashi said with a smile, scooping up the girl as she reached him. "You haven't been giving your big sister any trouble while I was gone, have you?"
Rukia looked at him with her large eyes and grinned happily. "Of course not, big brother! I'm a good girl..."
Yeruashi strolled into the living room and sat on the sofa with little Rukia in his arms, while Hisana deftly helped him remove his black shinigami kosode and the Lieutenant's badge of the Second Division, immediately hanging them neatly on the rack by the entrance.
Lilith sat down at the table first and carefully poured herself a cup of tea. She held the cup with both small hands and began to slowly sip the hot, fragrant brew.
Meanwhile, Rukia hopped off Yeruashi's lap and poured him a cup of hot tea herself.
Yeruashi took the cup and asked calmly as he looked at Hisana, "Did anything happen while I was away?"
Hisana paused to think. "The Seireitei was very noisy for the first few days after you left, but it didn't affect us at all."
"Good."
Yeruashi smiled casually, leaning back against the sofa.
Hisana didn't do excessive things, like 'accidentally' walking into the bath while Yeruashi was there; moreover, she possessed a very gentle and soft personality, reminiscent of the adult versions of Rin and Kurenai.
Soon, Hisana also sat down at the table. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly frowned and tilted her head before covering her mouth with her delicate hands and coughing.
"Are you having health problems?"
Yeruashi asked calmly, continuing to slowly sip his fragrant tea.
Looking up, the coughing Hisana saw Yeruashi's kind and friendly smile, but she still gritted her teeth and shook her head. "It's nothing worth worrying about, just a bit of discomfort..."
"Hmm..."
Yeruashi looked at Hisana thoughtfully.
It seemed that even though Hisana had begun living in comfortable conditions much earlier than in the original timeline, her condition still hadn't significantly improved.
Yeruashi hadn't checked the state of Hisana's soul before, as she hadn't shown any obvious signs of illness or weakness. He had hoped that she would be perfectly fine as long as she lived a peaceful, well-fed life, but it seemed things weren't that simple...
Of course, he had known from the beginning that Hisana had rather weak spiritual energy, but diseases of the soul weren't directly linked to its strength. Even Jushiro Ukitake, the Captain of the Thirteenth Division who possessed captain-class spiritual power, couldn't overcome his severe soul ailment. It often reached the point where he couldn't even attend the regular meetings of the Gotei 13 captains.
Ukitake's illness was a fundamental problem of the soul, which was extremely difficult to eliminate using healing techniques.
Even setting aside the case of Jushiro Ukitake, who couldn't fully fulfill his duties as a captain due to illness, one only had to look at Hisana's original situation to understand the gravity of the matter. Byakuya Kuchiki, despite being the head of one of the Great Noble Houses of the Soul Society, had been forced to watch helplessly as his own wife gradually withered away.
However.
Did the fact that a head of a Great Noble House and a division captain were powerless against such soul diseases mean that Yeruashi had no way to save Hisana?
"Hisana, come here. I want to check your condition."
Yeruashi considered it for a moment and then beckoned to Hisana, deciding to start by checking her body.
But Hisana just bashfully looked away and said, "Mr. Yeruashi, I am perfectly fine. It's not worth your trouble..."
Hisana, who did her best to repay Yeruashi for all the help he provided, would never dream of burdening him with such insignificant trifles.
But just then, little Rukia chimed in. "Sister, don't think I haven't noticed you've been unwell lately. Big brother really should check your health..."
With Rukia's intervention and Yeruashi extending a hand with a kind smile, Hisana sighed helplessly and said shyly, "Mr. Yeruashi, what... what should I do?"
"Just lie down."
Soon after Hisana rose from the table and lay down on the clean floor, Yeruashi stood up from the sofa and reached out, infusing her body with a small amount of his spiritual power.
Then his gaze pierced through her clothes and into the young girl's body, accompanied by a mesmerizing golden flash in his pupils—a sign that his Eyes of God were active.
After a while, Yeruashi deactivated his Eyes of God and looked away, sinking into thought.
Rukia, becoming deeply anxious as she watched the pensive and silent Yeruashi, clenched her small fists. "My sister will be okay, right? Big brother, don't stay quiet..."
"Of course, but she does have some health issues."
Yeruashi smiled at the worried Rukia.
After a detailed examination of Hisana's soul using the Eyes of God, Yeruashi discovered that the weakness of her soul was fundamental—meaning it couldn't be neutralized by training or increasing her reiatsu. If you double the size of a piece of rusty iron, it remains rusty iron.
To cure this disease, the soul itself had to be altered, but such a process required the finest control; a single mistake could lead to the complete collapse and disintegration of the soul.
Jushiro Ukitake's situation must be similar to Hisana's.
The soul is a far more delicate and fragile mechanism than the human body of flesh and blood. Therefore, neutralizing an innate soul defect was dozens of times more complex and risky than treating Rock Lee's injuries after the Chunin Exams in the original story.
If one were to equate the skill levels of healers and swordsmen, performing such an operation successfully would require the medical equivalent of a 'Great Sword Master'.
It was no surprise that Retsu Unohana couldn't deal with these diseases in the original timeline. After all, this supposedly calm and caring Captain of the Fourth Division was actually a crazed berserker.
Since Unohana's kendo had only recently reached the level of a Great Sword Master thanks to his guidance, what could be said about her medical skills, which she had learned only to prolong the pleasure of battle?
Hisana sat up and said confidently as she looked at Yeruashi, "Mr. Yeruashi, there's no need to worry about this! I'll be fine, I just caught a little cold..."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Yeruashi flicked Hisana's forehead. "I can't cure you right now, but don't worry—I'll definitely figure it out in the near future."
Since this soul defect was innate, the Reverse Time Flow ability could only alleviate the condition but couldn't completely heal Hisana.
Hisana couldn't spend her whole life in the form of a cute loli, although Yeruashi didn't mind at all...
Yeruashi had managed to find three ways to solve Hisana's problem.
For instance, he could separate Hisana's consciousness from her defective soul and then grant her a new one using the powers of the Eyes of God.
But...
Then Hisana would become something like his daughter, like Lilith.
That would be very strange, to say the least.
The second method was the direct neutralization of Hisana's soul defect.
Yeruashi lacked the precise reiatsu control and medical skills required of a Great Sword Master, but any mistakes made during the operation could be completely erased with Reverse Time Flow. Thus, Yeruashi could test various treatments as much as he wanted without any negative consequences for Hisana's soul. Additionally, Retsu Unohana could serve as his assistant and consultant. In conditions where mistakes were allowed, they would eventually find the path to healing Hisana's soul step by step.
Initially, Yeruashi had leaned toward this option, but ultimately decided against it. While this path allowed for infinite errors without physical consequences to the soul, what about Hisana's mind? Regardless of the outcome, every wound or soul disintegration would be excruciatingly painful.
It would be as if a nurse giving an injection missed the vein dozens or even hundreds of times in a row. It was highly likely that Hisana's mind wouldn't be able to endure the pain of her soul being repeatedly damaged and destroyed.
Therefore, the most suitable method was the third one: rebuilding the soul using the power of the Soul King.
The bones of Zero Division members are formed from the Soul King's power, which allows them to open the gates to the Soul King Palace and grants their souls agelessness.
Based on Yeruashi's rough estimate of his current spiritual power and affinity for reishi, he would be able to master the Soul King's power in less than a year. Thus, there was no need to rely on the first or second options.
"Mr. Yeruashi..."
Hisana lowered her head and bit her lip before saying apologetically, "Being able to escape that constant hunger was already a great blessing for us. I... I will try to repay you however I can. You shouldn't worry about trifles like my health..."
Yeruashi, having finished his reflections on the treatment method, looked up and smiled at her. "It's precisely because I took you in that day that I cannot ignore such problems. Besides, I've already accepted Rukia as my little sister, so I have twice the reason not to overlook this."
With those words, Yeruashi stepped forward and extended his hand toward Hisana. "Stop lamenting. It's no burden to me at all. Come here; I'll temporarily alleviate your condition for now."
Silence.
Yeruashi activated his Reverse Time Flow ability as he gently touched his index finger to Hisana's forehead as she approached. At the moment of that brief contact, her soul instantly returned to the much healthier state it had been in over two years ago.
Hisana, feeling the weakness and malaise of her soul vanish instantly as if they had never existed, bowed gratefully to Yeruashi. "I don't know how else to express my gratitude, Mr. Yeruashi."
"Let's just get back to the food."
Yeruashi sat back down at the table casually.
Hisana nodded and sat down after him, struggling to suppress the wave of gratitude washing over her once more.
But as soon as Hisana took her seat across from Yeruashi, she felt a strange sensation. She lowered her head and began examining her body, but eventually shook her head and returned to her meal.
'It's nothing more than an overactive imagination,' she thought.
'How could my body have grown several years younger?'