Hi~ It's been so long since I last updated this story, and I'm so so so sorry to those who have been waiting for me! And I also want to say thank you for waiting! I hope you enjoy it~! And I'd really really appreciate it if you leave reviews! They help tons~!
P.S.: I don't own Bleach nor any of the characters of Bleach. Credits go to Tite Kubo.
Enjoy~
Haruna opened the sacred scroll, and then she whispered an enchantment that Ukitake couldn't quite hear. Then, a bright white light came out of the scroll and, and the light engulfed Ukitake's body. The light slowly turned blue and then, suddenly, it turned as red as blood.
"What…" Haruna couldn't speak.
"What's wrong…?" Ukitake asked, worried about her.
"Why…" She hesitated. Her eyes were still on the dark red light. "How are you still alive…?"
"I told you before…" Ukitake said, and then he mentioned the story about Mimihami-sama.
"Yeah… but I thought it was just a legend… There's no way that a god would leave his shrine to save a single life, more so if it means to enter the body…"
"I guess…" was all Ukitake could say.
"This… This is a disease that takes the lives of countless souls here in Soul Society," Haruna explained. "Even though Mimihagi-sama took over your lungs, I can still tell by your blood-vessels. This disease is caused by a single virus that infects a portion of the reisatsu, usually in birth, and it devours the physical internal organs, starting from the lungs. It only happens to one in a million people, but no one has ever survived even three weeks. I've read many documents about new-born children dying within three weeks after severe cough attacks and heavy-breathing. I'm surprised your disease didn't show symptoms until you were 3 years old."
"Is it that grave…?" Ukitake asked.
"Yes, it is," she replied. "There are portions of your body where the reiatsu is still infected, but your healthy reiatsu is engulfing them, as if to stop the infection. That's amazing… Your reiatsu is working as an immune system… I've never seen anything like this happen before…"
Ukitake just stared at her in awe. How did she know all this just by looking at a bright blue light that came out of a scroll and then changed to a dark red light? He wanted to ask, but he only stared.
"And I guess you're wondering how I knew all this just from a dark red light, right?" She asked him.
"Well…" was all Ukitake said.
Haruna put the scroll back together and then away on a table and said, "These aren't just random lights. Everybody's reiatsu has the same core, and very few differences make individual reiatsu different. Since the core compositions are the same, certain variations in one's reiatsu can cause diseases. The scroll visualizes this composition of reiatsu."
"Oh," Ukitake said.
They stayed quiet for a while. Multiple times they had been alone with each other, but it had never been this awkward.
"It's pretty late," Haruna broke the silence. "You should sleep here and go home tomorrow."
"Yeah," Ukitake said. "Thank you."
"Yeah," she said. "If you need anything, just call someone. There's going to be someone in the halls all the time." She took the scrolls and left the room.
"So," Hayato was waiting for her in front of her room, "what did you find out?"
"Do you remember that one time we went out to town with Father? When the two-week old baby died..." she asked.
"Yes," Hayato said.
"It's the same thing," was all she said.
A long time ago, when Haruna was still a little kid
"Hayato," Ichirou was calling for his son, "I have to go somewhere, and I want you to come with me."
"Father," Hayato answered, "where are you going this late at night?"
"It's an emergency," the older man replied. "A newborn baby in East Rukongai has a severe cough. I hear he's only 2 weeks old, but he's had the cough since he was born, and it hasn't stopped since then. They said he even started coughing blood today. Go get the Heavenly Scrolls."
"Yes, Father," Hayato said and left the room to get the scrolls.
"Father…" Haruna was outside the room.
"Did you eavesdrop again, Haruna?" Ichirou said with a gentle voice. He picked his little girl up.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't sleep, and the lights were on…" she said, apologetic.
"It's alright," Ichirou comforted Haruna," but I have to go now. You heard, didn't you? There are newborns out there who need our help."
"Can I go, too?" she asked. She was a splitting image of her mother, except for the eyes, which were shining bright, begging for permission to go.
"It's not going to be pretty," Ichirou said, worried that the sight might be too cruel for such a young girl.
"It's okay," she said in a strong and firm voice. "I'll be okay!"
"Father," Hayato returned with the scrolls, "here are the scrolls."
"Alright," Ichirou said. "Let us go," he said, as he put Haruna down and held her hand.
Ichirou, Hayato, Haruna, and four more servants reached the house in West Rukongai where the newbron's cough could be heard even from outside. They all looked at each other, worried of what might be on the other side of the door. They knocked, and someone opened the door.
"Thank you! Thank you, Kurayami-sensei, for coming all the way here!" a lady said as she bowed her head in respect. "My baby boy has been coughing so much since he was born, and it scares me that I might lose him. He is only 2 weeks old…" and the lady started crying.
"It's alright, Ma'am," Ichirou said. Then he told his servants to look after the lady. He went to the room where the baby was coughing with Hayato and Haruna (she had been told to stay with the lady, but she insisted she had to go). He opened the scroll and casted an enchantment, words that Haruna clearly heard.
"O, Divine Dragon of Heaven, come down upon this soul and reveal what is in it."
When Ichirou chanted these words, a bright white light came out of the scroll and covered the body of the newborn. Then the light turned blue slowly, and then it suddenly turned red. Haruna was scared. She had never seen a light look so much like blood. She looked up to her father, who was just as shocked as she was.
"This…" Ichirou couldn't find the right words to say. He had never seen such scene before. The baby's reiatsu was tearing apart the internal organs of the baby, starting with the lungs. It was almost as if the reiatsu had an evil intent and tried to strip the baby of his breath.
"Father…" Haruna was crying. "I'm scared…" She muttered these words as she fell to the ground.
"Hayato," Ichirou called for his son, "take Haruna and let her rest a little bit."
"Yes, Father."
Ichirou came out of the room to where the parents were waiting for him in fear.
"Kurayami-sensei…" the baby's mother came to him. "How is my boy…? You can cure him, right?" Her voice was shaking, and her eyes were out of focus. Her whole body was trembling in fear of what might happen to her baby boy.
"I will try my best, Ma'am," Ichirou said with a firm voice. He himself was scared. He knew he couldn't cure the boy, and he hated giving false hope. But he also hated seeing this mother suffering. He knew he was the last hope she had for her baby boy to live.
"Thank you, Kurayami-sensei…" she said as she fainted. Her husband came to her and carried her to the room next door.
"Kurayami-sensei…" The father called Ichirou as he came out of the room where his wife was laying down. "Please… I know you can't cure him… My boy… He's suffering so much…." His eyes were getting teary. "My wife will understand, too. In fact, she probably understands better than anyone else…" He started crying. "Please… Put our boy out of his suffering… Please… I'm begging you… I can't see him suffer like this anymore…" He man was now crying like a little child who had lost his parents. He kept begging and begging.
"Sir…" Ichirou's heart was aching. He knew the pain this man was going through a little too well. "I understand…" He walked past the wailing man into the baby's room. He took a needle out of his bag which he had placed next to the bed. He also took a strange liquid out. "This will ease your pain, little one."
"Haruna, are you okay?" Hayato asked. He noticed Haruna was pale and sweating.
"Yes," Haruna answered. "I'm just… confused… I remember Father clearly said…" she was interrupted.
"Haruna," Ichirou had come.
"Father!" Both Haruna and Hayato called him, surprised that their father was out this late.
"It is late already, Father," Hayato said. "Why are you not sleeping?
"I could ask the same of you, kids," Ichirou said. "Haruna, did you use the Sacred Scroll?"
"Yes, Father…" Haruna replied quietly.
"How did it go?"
"It was…" she hesitated. "Father, is it possible to suppress your own reiatsu when it goes wild?"
"Yes," Ichirou replied. He knew why Haruna was asking this. "Haruna, the disease that the young Ukitake boy has is a very serious disease that has no known cure. The medicine we've been giving him only works to alleviate his symptoms."
"I am aware of that, Father," Haruna said.
"And I'm sure you're also aware of the fact that the medicine can't do anything about the virus itself," Ichirou said.
"Yes," Haruna replied. "But Juushiro's reiatsu is engulfing the virus by itself to stop it from spreading further. I don't know how that is possible…"
"Reiatsu doesn't act on its own," Ichirou said. "Young Ukitake is controlling his reiatsu."
"He is controlling it…?"
"Yes," Ichirou said. "I can guess he is an expert in Kidou,"
"Yes, he is," she affirmed.
"Wait," Hayato said. "How is it possible? If he is indeed, controlling his reiatsu to prevent the virus from spreading any further, it would take a lot more effort to use kidou."
"Onii-chan," Haruna said, "his reiatsu level is so much higher."
"Yes," Ichirou confirmed. "If he didn't have to use his reiatsu to stop the virus, his kidou would be much more powerful. He has so much potential as a Shinigami."
"I…" Haruna seemed concerned about something. "I…"
"Haruna?" Hayato called her. He was worried about his little sister.
"I…" now she seemed determined. "I will find a cure to this. I definitely will."
Hope you enjoyed~!
Hopefully I'll be updating this more often...! Please look forward to the development of this story! I'll work hard~!