Kuchiki Clan estate.
"Hisana, remember to take your medicine."
Dressed in plain robes, Kuchiki Byakuya looked at Hisana lying quietly in her sickbed, his eyes full of tenderness. Hisana had always been frail. After marrying into the Kuchiki Clan, she had busied herself with studying noble etiquette in order to gain the clan's approval and avoid embarrassing Byakuya. Even during her usual rest periods, she had not stayed idle, instead running off to the Rukongai District. In the end, her body finally gave out.
According to the Kuchiki Clan physicians' experience, Hisana's condition made it difficult for her to survive the year. Fortunately, the Soul Society's medical standards had already far surpassed the understanding of the Kuchiki Clan physicians. Unohana Retsu, captain of the Medical Division, also known as the 4th Division, had combined the 12th Division captains' research into Gikon with Kaido under Araki's guidance. She had developed various restorative methods, such as dietary supplements and blood transfusions, successfully saving Hisana, who should have died that year.
Likewise, Kuchiki Kōjun, who also had a weak constitution and found life in the Seireitei's extremely dense reishi environment unbearably difficult, survived thanks to Hikifune Kirio's temporary soul-nourishment method. Of course, the resources and money the Kuchiki Clan spent treating Hisana and Kōjun were beyond ordinary imagination. This had to mention the exorbitant price Araki charged the Kuchiki Clan for treating them. The price was painful even for the fabulously wealthy Kuchiki Clan.
Even now, Byakuya still remembered what had happened when he had been devastated over Hisana's condition, and his grandfather, Kuchiki Ginrei, had introduced him to Soul Society's foremost physician, Araki, who was also the current Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.
"Captain-Commander Araki, can my wife Hisana still be saved?!"
Byakuya remembered that the moment he entered the 1st Division's