Changing into a pre-prepared Gigai, Soifon carried the weak Masaki Kurosaki on her back. With one hand holding the hand of a still somewhat bewildered Ichigo Kurosaki, she hailed a taxi by the roadside.
After getting into the car, Soifon gave the address of the Ishida household.
Masaki Kurosaki leaned on her shoulder, her voice laced with confusion: "Lady Captain Soifon, why... go to the Ishida house?"
Soifon did not answer immediately.
She turned her head slightly, pressing a finger gently against her lips in a "shh" gesture. Then, she raised her eyes, looking meaningfully at the grey, overcast sky outside the car window.
Masaki Kurosaki followed her gaze, her pupils constricting slightly.
She understood. Soifon was referring to the eerie pillar of light that had just stripped away almost all of her Quincy powers.
Perhaps the Ishida family had suffered the same fate!?
"Also, don't call me Lady Captain anymore, Mrs. Kurosaki."
Soifon looked at Masaki Kurosaki, who was lying on her shoulder, through the rearview mirror.
"Yes, Captain Soifon..."
Masaki Kurosaki asked no more questions, simply revealing a gentle smile to the bewildered Ichigo Kurosaki.
The taxi drove steadily through the curtain of rain, crossing the streets of Karakura Town, and finally stopped in front of a familiar villa.
Soifon paid the fare and got out carrying Masaki Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki followed closely, jumping down with his small hand still clutching the corner of his mother's clothes in Soifon's arms.
After ringing the doorbell, the main gate was pulled open very quickly.
Ryūken Ishida opened the door, his face covered in frost; clearly, his mood right now was extremely bad.
Upon seeing Soifon and Masaki Kurosaki in her arms, his eyes instantly widened. Ignoring the falling rain, he ran out across the lawn and pulled open the courtyard gate.
"Bring her in, quickly." He immediately stepped sideways to clear the path. "Hurry, Captain Soifon."
Soifon carried Masaki into the living room, and Ichigo Kurosaki obediently followed. Ryūken Ishida quickly closed the door, shutting out the sound of the rain outside.
Leading the three of them to the medical care room on the second floor—as the director of a hospital, Ryūken Ishida had equipped his own home with a complete set of medical equipment.
After Ryūken Ishida pushed open the door, Masaki Kurosaki, still in Soifon's arms, sucked in a breath of cold air.
Kanae Katagiri lay quietly on a bed against the wall. Her face was as pale as paper, and her breathing was so faint that the rise and fall of her chest were almost invisible.
A bespectacled boy, looking about the same age as Ichigo Kurosaki, was kneeling by the bed. His small hands tightly gripped the bedsheets, his shoulders trembling incessantly from his sobbing.
Hearing the door open, he jerked his head around: "Father!"
Uryū Ishida's voice carried the sound of weeping. He threw himself over and grabbed Ryūken Ishida's sleeve: "Mother... What happened to Mother? Why..."
Ryūken Ishida kept his face taut and did not answer his son's question, turning instead to look at Soifon.
Placing Masaki Kurosaki gently on the hospital bed next to Kanae Katagiri, Soifon's gaze landed on the sobbing Uryū Ishida: "What is this child's name?"
"...Uryū."
Ryūken Ishida spoke with difficulty.
Soifon nodded.
She squatted down, looking Uryū Ishida in the eye, and reached out to gently rub his soft black hair.
"Uryū." Soifon spoke with rare gentleness. "Go outside and play with Ichigo for a while, okay?"
Uryū Ishida glanced at Soifon, then looked timidly at Ryūken Ishida, and finally at Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Big sister will save your mom," Soifon continued. "I promise."
Can she save her?
Ryūken Ishida was skeptical. He had examined Kanae Katagiri's body with instruments earlier, and the results showed she was surprisingly normal.
His gaze lingered on Soifon's face for a few seconds. Ryūken Ishida suddenly remembered when Soifon had come to the World of the Living several years ago to borrow his collection of books on Quincy history.
Wait! Could it be...
So that was it...
Had she anticipated this day long ago and prepared a countermeasure?
He took a deep breath, nodded slowly, and finally acknowledged his own son.
"Listen to Captain Soifon. Take Ichigo to the living room downstairs."
After saying this, Ryūken Ishida turned his back and stopped looking at Uryū.
Although Ichigo Kurosaki didn't understand the situation, he had listened to the words of this white-clad big sister named Soifon—she wanted him to take this peer named Uryū outside.
He still trusted the savior of himself and his mother quite a bit.
Walking over and taking Uryū Ishida's hand, Ichigo Kurosaki led the other boy out of the room and closed the door.
The door shut softly.
Soifon took out the small black box from her inner pocket and handed it to Ryūken Ishida.
"Put them on." She watched Ryūken Ishida pick up the glasses. "Being able to see Reishi will make the surgery easier."
Ryūken Ishida took the glasses. The moment he put them on, his vision changed.
He looked at the two women lying on the beds and discovered that within their bodies, the circulation flow of Reishi had become obstructed.
It was like blood clots blocking blood vessels.
"This is..."
Ryūken Ishida's voice was dry.
"Silver Thrombosis. A product of the Auswählen." Soifon walked to the bedside, looking down at Kanae Katagiri's pale face. "If not removed, within three months, they will completely block the blood vessels of the heart."
Soifon did not explain further; as a doctor, Ryūken Ishida understood what this meant.
"Auswählen." Ryūken Ishida took off the glasses and rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "The Kaiser Gesang... it was actually true."
"Otherwise?" Soifon glanced at him. "Did you think I borrowed those moldy ancient books from you years ago just for amusement?"
Ryūken Ishida was choked into silence.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
"You knew all along..."
"I knew that something would happen to Masaki and Kanae."
Soifon nodded, not denying it.
"Then why..."
Ryūken Ishida cut his own sentence halfway and laughed self-deprecatingly, feeling that he was becoming stupid.
Auswählen is the means by which the King of Quincys reclaims power. Who could interfere?
...
In the fully equipped operating room.
While preparing sterilization and instruments, Ryūken Ishida picked up the phone, intending to call the assistants and nurses in the hospital.
"I will be your assistant."
Soifon stopped him. The light of Kaidō lit up in her hand. Sensing the healing power contained within it, Ryūken Ishida put down the phone.
The operating room lights were adjusted to maximum brightness. Ryūken Ishida put the special glasses back on. After injecting anesthesia, he picked up the scalpel, frowning as he gauged the incisions.
The silver thrombi distributed throughout the limbs had not yet fully formed. Some had already gathered into grain-sized particles, trembling slightly with the flow of blood.
Every time Ryūken Ishida made a cut to extract a silver thrombus, Soifon immediately used Kaidō to heal Kanae Katagiri's surgical wound.
In the tray, those blood-stained silver fragments glimmered with a cold luster.
After about two hours, the surgeries for both Kanae Katagiri and Masaki Kurosaki were completed one after another. He checked the flow of Reishi and blood once more with the glasses before finally relaxing.
Ryūken Ishida's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. He glanced at the tray filled with fresh blood, picked up a bottle of glucose, and downed it.
"It's done..."
He leaned back against a table near the operating table, taking off his cap and gloves.
"Don't throw away these blood clots. Collect them; they will be useful later."
After Soifon reminded him, light and shadow suddenly flickered before her eyes, and a panel emerged.
[Mission Triggered: Rescue]
[Mission Completed]
[Reward Obtained: Sklaverei (Usable without Vollständig)]
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
🔥 25% off something at the funeral parlor... care to take a look? 🔥
✅ Unlock a 40-chapter backlog for ALL my series.
✅ Receive exclusive content and regular updates!
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus chapter
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters for ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan