From afar, Sawada Tsunayoshi spotted the Ishida Residence. The manor-like building was impossible to miss, so Masa no longer needed to show him the way. Tsuna flew straight toward it.
The moment Tsuna set Masa down, an unfamiliar spiritual pressure appeared before them. The estate gates opened, and a tall, silver-haired man emerged.
"A Long, I'm back." Seeing Ishida Ryuuken, Masa smiled and ran toward him, though after only two steps, she was already gasping for breath again.
Ryūken supported Masa and asked worriedly, "Why have you become so weak? Where is that guy Kurosaki Isshin? And who is this little brat?"
"Never mind that for now. Hae—how is Hae doing?" Masa asked anxiously. Back when she lived in the Ishida Residence, Hae had been her friend. Hae had also been the first to respect her choice to be with Isshin. That was why she had rushed back to the Ishida Residence.
Ishida's expression changed. "How do you know about Hae...?"
"It's The Auswählen—the Progenitor of the Quincy's Auswählen!" Masa said.
With Masa's reminder, Ishida Ryuuken recalled the piles of books his father Sōken had kept. There had been records concerning the Progenitor of the Quincy among them. Ryūken felt a little regretful. Because of his poor relationship with his father, he knew very little about the Quincy's past.
"This Auswählen targeted Mixed-blood Quincy. Those in poorer health might die outright! Take me to Hae, quickly!" Masa urged.
"I understand."
Although he did not know whether Masa had any way to resolve the effects of The Auswählen on Mixed-blood Quincy, Ryūken chose to trust her. Yet as he turned around, his eyes discreetly swept over Tsuna.
Masa caught Ryūken's little gesture. Having grown up with him, how could she not know what he was thinking? Ryūken was still wary of Tsuna.
"I was affected by The Auswählen too. Little Tsuna saved me. He knows about The Auswählen," Masa quickly filled Ryūken in on the important details.
Out of trust for Masa, Ryūken did not ask anything else for the moment. "Come along, little one."
Following Ryūken, the three of them passed through a broad corridor and made their way to the innermost room of the residence. After opening the tall door and entering, they found a room simply but tastefully furnished. A long-haired woman lay on the bed in the center, while beside it stood a boy about Tsuna's age, tears streaming endlessly down his face.
"Uryū, don't cry. Mom is fine." From her voice alone, it was clear just how frail the woman was.
The moment the door opened, Masa seemed to find strength from nowhere. She staggered several steps and rushed to the bedside. "Hae, you..."
"Masa, why are you here?" Hae was the long-haired woman lying on the bed. Against her black hair, her already fair face looked even paler.
"How are you feeling now?" Masa asked, half her body leaning over the bed.
"I'm fine. I just suddenly feel a little weak. I'll be better after resting for a while." Hae comforted Masa as though she were comforting her own son.
"How could you be fine...?"
Masa hesitantly glanced at Ishida Uryū beside her. Hae immediately understood what Masa was worried about.
Hae said to Uryū, "Uryū, go to sleep first. Mom needs to chat with her friend for a while, then rest."
Ishida Uryū opened his mouth, about to refuse, when Ryūken's stern voice rang out. "Uryū! Go back to your room and sleep!"
Uryū immediately fell silent. His father had always been forceful, and he could not bring himself to make another sound. He could only stiffly turn and head out of the room. As he passed the doorway, he cast Tsuna a surprised glance.
Uryū did not know why a child his age was here, but under his father's pressure, he had no choice but to leave the room, closing the door behind him.
Only after the door was shut did Masa solemnly say to Hae, "It's The Auswählen. Not just you—I was hit by it too. I can't use my power at all."
As she spoke, Masa gathered Reishi with all her strength. The moment a vein-like pattern formed along her arm, it immediately collapsed. She no longer had the ability to control Reishi.
"Masa, how did you overcome the weakness after The Auswählen?" Ryūken also walked to the bedside and asked her. He wanted Hae to be able to get out of bed and live normally again.
"A Long, I didn't overcome the weakness. This was simply my state after being affected by The Auswählen. Little Tsuna said this Auswählen targeted Mixed-blood Quincy. Those in worse condition might even die," Masa said.
After saying that, Masa stared at Ryūken. She was somewhat surprised that there was not the slightest hint of shock on his face. "A Long? You knew?"
"I knew. My mother has already lost her breath. It happened not long ago." Ryūken's expression was terrifyingly cold. It was precisely because he knew of his mother's death that he had been so anxious to free Hae from her current condition. He was also afraid that Hae would die because of it.
"How could that be? Mom... Wasn't she a pure-blood Quincy? How could The Auswählen affect her?" Hae asked in shock. Her first concern was not herself, but Ryūken's mother.
"Mother... was attacked by a Hollow when she was young. When I examined her body, I found scars on her foot." Ryūken's voice grew lower and lower. Unlike Hae, his mother had not endured The Auswählen at all. She had died immediately.
"This..." Masa had not expected Aunt Ishida to die so suddenly. For a moment, she did not know what to say. Then her eyes shifted, and when she saw the small figure by the bed, she immediately called out to Tsuna.
"Little Tsuna, you know about The Auswählen. Is there any way to help Hae return to normal? She doesn't need to regain her powers. She only needs to be able to live normally, like me."
Ryūken also turned his gaze toward the child. If Masa had not said he knew about The Auswählen, Ryūken would not even have wanted to let him in, much less bring him into his bedroom.
Then, in the next instant, Tsuna's words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over Ryūken's head.
"No, Aunt Masa. After Mixed-blood Quincy are affected by The Auswählen, aside from losing their powers, a substance called Still Silver forms inside their bodies. Depending on the individual's strength, some Quincy die directly from The Auswählen, while others die when the Still Silver gathers and forms a Silver Blood Clot in the heart."
"With Aunt Hae's current physical condition, if she carefully recuperates, she might have a few months left to live."
"Brat, what did you say?!"
A cold glint flashed in Ryūken's eyes. The Spirit Bow and Arrows had already unfolded in his left hand, its Reishi arrows poised to fire. Tsuna's words were practically dancing across every one of his land mines, involving both his mother and his wife.
A flash of green light later, Tsuna immediately ducked behind Masa and said in an exaggerated tone, "Aunt Masa, this silver-haired uncle is so scary~"
Masa was nearly speechless. Could Tsuna's repeated probing of Ryūken's sensitive nerves possibly not make him angry?
Masa dragged Tsuna out from behind her and asked seriously, "Little Tsuna, Auntie wants to ask you something. How much longer do I have to live?"
Masa did not expect there to be no Still Silver in her body. According to Tsuna, her condition was better than Hae's, so she should have longer to live. Knowing her life would not last much longer, Masa decided she needed to do something for her little family. She needed time.
Tsuna turned his head toward the door, avoiding Masa's gaze. "I don't know, if I hadn't appeared."
Masa's pupils instantly contracted. Combined with what Tsuna had said at her home before, she understood what he meant. If Sawada Tsunayoshi had not appeared, she would already be dead—killed after The Auswählen, at the hands of that Hollow.
And the reason Hae still had a few months left was also based on the assumption that Tsuna had not appeared and Ryūken handled things himself. Hae would ultimately die from a Silver Blood Clot.
But if Tsuna had appeared, could he change something?
Masa asked softly and gently, "Little Tsuna, do you have a way to prevent Aunt Hae from dying because of a Silver Blood Clot?"
Masa lowered her request once more. Before, she had wanted Hae to recover. Now, she only wanted to save Hae's life.
Hearing Masa's question, Ryūken put away the Spirit Bow and Arrows as well. He raised one hand to his forehead. No matter what he encountered, he was usually extremely calm, but today, his beloved's condition had made him lose control.
"Why would I tell you to ask this smug uncle to take you as a disciple if I didn't have a few trump cards?"
Hearing Tsuna insult him again, the vein on Ryūken's forehead twitched. But since this concerned his wife, he did not flare up and simply waited for what came next.
"I'll agree for A Long. Little Tsuna, please help Aunt Masa, okay?" Masa pleaded.
"Easy. Since Still Silver exists inside your bodies, why not remove it before it forms a Silver Blood Clot?" Tsuna said.
"Angiography?" Ryūken, who was well versed in medicine, quickly thought of the corresponding method.
"It might not be that simple," Tsuna said. If X-ray imaging alone could solve the problem, Ryūken would not have failed to try it during the months Hae had been weak.
"Brat, what exactly are you trying to say?" Ryūken asked. When it came to medicine, no one present was more professional than him.
"Well, I just happen to have something more convenient than medical technology—something that can see through layer upon layer of illusions straight to the essence." A green light flashed from Tsuna's chest. "D. Spada's Magic Mirror."
Three monocles of varying sizes floated before Tsuna's left eye. Each monocle was decorated with two long silver spikes and a pair of small white wings.
This was the weapon of D. Spada, the First Generation Mist Guardian of Vongola. Legend said that anyone stared at through D. Spada's Magic Mirror would be cursed, and their corpse would float upon the sea the next day.
Sawada Tsunayoshi was more inclined to believe that D. Spada had used the Magic Mirror to cast an Illusion on people. The illusion enhancement this equipment gave Tsuna was not particularly strong. Its true strength lay in granting Tsuna the power to see through illusions. As long as he stacked the three lenses together and infused them with spiritual pressure, Tsuna could see whatever truth he wanted.
Turning his gaze to Hae on the bed, Tsuna directly saw the pathways of blood in her body. Upon them, he saw three silver-white points of light that were nearly invisible to the naked eye. He then turned to Masa. She had them too, except hers were smaller and more numerous—five points of light.
"Aunt Hae has one point of light each in her chest cavity, right arm, and left leg. Those should be Still Silver. Aunt Masa has five, distributed across her limbs and abdomen."
"The points of light are moving slowly. I'm guessing that when all of them gather in the heart, that's when a Silver Blood Clot forms. The reason Aunt Masa is in better condition is because the Still Silver in her body is more scattered."
"I see." Masa closed her eyes and nodded twice. Then, she suddenly covered her chest with one hand and tugged Tsuna's cheek with the other. "You little brat, did your ability see something it shouldn't have? Careful, or I'll tell Nana!"
Tsuna was speechless. Was this really what Masa was thinking about at a time like this? Her thoughts really did jump around.
Tsuna defended himself. "The Magic Mirror isn't that vulgar. Before it, your bodies are all false. All I can see are the Reishi pathways inside you. And since you've lost your powers, what I can see most clearly is the Still Silver carrying traces of Reishi."
After hearing Tsuna's explanation, Masa was just about to let go when she heard what came next, and her grip tightened again.
"Besides, if I really could see through things, you don't think your arm could block my view, do you..."
Before you continue