Opening Song: Distance by LONG SHOT PARTY
Chapter 4: Ill
The air seemed unusually subdue in the Shin'o Academy that afternoon. Everywhere, there were groups of students talking about the news that Yamamoto had delivered that morning. The most common questions were 'Who was it?' and 'Why did they do it?'. Even the teachers looked somewhat worried, something that Isamu noticed immediately.
"The senseis look too concerned for it to be just an average Rukongai mass murder," he pointed out to both Shunsui and Jushiro, "There's probably something they're not telling us."
"They don't have to tell us," Jushiro pointed out, "We are only first years after all, so we probably wouldn't be able to do anything anyway." His sentence ended in a cough.
"Oh, dear, Ukitake. You've caught a cold," Isamu observed. Jushiro's face was flushed, and he was wheezing slightly. When Isamu tried to place his hand on Jushiro's forehead, the latter shied away.
"I'm okay," the white-haired boy covered his mouth as another cough worked its way up.
"Was it because I left the window open last night?" Isamu wondered worriedly, "I didn't think you'd be bothered by it..."
"I said I'm fine, Shihouin. Thank you for your concern." Jushiro smiled reassuringly, "It's just a cold. Nothing to worry about."
Once again, Isamu reluctantly dropped the subject. The three of them, Chouko, and Aimi headed for Zanjutsu class. This time, Yamamoto had one volunteer come up to the front so he could demonstrate some tactics and strategies to the rest of the class. Afterwards, he let them pair up and spar. Aimi and Isamu were sparring together, and Shunsui and Jushiro were practicing while Chouko paired up with another girl.
As the two boys began to spar, Shunsui could tell there was something off about his partner. Jushiro's attacks lacked strength, and his accuracy wasn't as good as yesterday. The white-haired boy was breathing heavily even though they had only exchanged a few blows, and sweat ran down his face in rivers.
"Hey, Ukitake. Want to take a break?" Shunsui asked, lowering his bokken slightly.
"Y-Yeah, I..." Jushiro's eyes suddenly widened and he began to cough harshly into his hand. He dropped to his knees, shoulders hunched as Shunsui ran over.
"Ukitake, you okay?" Shunsui crouched beside him and put a supporting hand on the white-haired boy's back as Chouko, Aimi, Isamu, and Yamamoto came over.
"I-I'm okay..." Jushiro was cut off again by a bout of coughing that was more vehement than the last. Something leaked between Jushiro's fingers and Shunsui leaned forward, frowning, to see what it was.
Blood.
"Shunsui, get Jushiro to the Healing Bay immediately," Yamamoto ordered. Shunsui put one of Jushiro's arms around his shoulders and wrapped an arm around his friend's waist, supporting the ill student out of the room. Jushiro continued to cough, splattering Shunsui's uniform with blood, but Shunsui barely noticed. He was too focused on getting his roommate to the Healing Bay.
By the time Shunsui managed to get Jushiro to the Healing Bay, the white-haired student had passed out. When Shunsui pushed open the door, a young healer came to greet him immediately.
"Oh, my!" the healer gasped, "What happened?"
"He just collapsed and started coughing up blood in Zanjutsu class," Shunsui explained hurriedly, "Please help him."
The healer nodded and beckoned him to follow her. She led them down the hall, pausing to order another healer to get someone called Unohana. They paused outside a vacant room and she said, "Please lay him on the bed so I can conduct an examination."
Shunsui obeyed immediately and backed off once Jushiro was placed in a comfortable position. The female healer began the exam with no waste of time, and for once, Shunsui made no attempt to flirt, choosing instead to watch as the healer took off Jushiro shirt and listened to the unconscious student's heartbeat. Then she moved to his lungs, and a frown crossed her face.
"What's the matter, Akiyama-san?" Both Shunsui and the healer, Akiyama, jumped as a new voice spoke from the doorway. Shunsui turned to see a slender, young woman with blue eyes and black hair smiling at them. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail, trailing down her front instead of her back. She wore a white, captain's haori over the standard Shihakushou, the kanji for 4 standing out boldly on her back.
"Captain Unohana!" Akiyama bowed and swiftly stood aside as the female captain moved next to Jushiro's bed, "This student collapsed and coughed blood in Zanjutsu class. He was brought here by, uh..." She stared at Shunsui awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed for not knowing his name.
"Kyouraku Shunsui," Shunsui offered, grinning slightly. Unohana smiled at him before turning back to Akiyama.
"Well?" she requested.
"Y-Yes, captain," Akiyama straightened up, "The student's lungs are infected with some kind of unknown disease. Judging by the damage already present, I would guess that he's been ill for quite some time. It may also be the reason why his hair is white."
"Go check to see if there's any record of this student ever being present here before," Unohana ordered Akiyama.
"His name is Ukitake Jushiro," Shunsui supplied helpfully. Akiyama hurried out of the room, as Captain Unohana let her hands hover over Jushiro's chest, conducting a test by using Healing Kido. A few moments of silence passed by before the light from the Kido faded and Unohana withdrew her hand.
"He'll be okay, right?" Shunsui blurted out.
"If Ukitake-san doesn't overexert himself and takes the proper medication, his chances of surviving will high," Unohana explained, "But this illness cannot be cured through the use of any medication from Soul Society."
"What? He can't be cured?" Isamu had just arrived at the door, breathless and with Chouko and Aimi behind him. Unohana frowned as Akiyama appeared shortly after.
"I'm very sorry, Captain Unohana. I tried to stop them..." Akiyama started to apologize, but Unohana stopped her.
"It is alright, Akiyama-san," Unohana smiled, "Provided that they speak in low voices, so as not to wake up Ukitake-san."
"Oh, okay," Akiyama said, "Anyways, Captain. There are no records of Ukitake Jushiro-san ever coming into the Healing Bay before now."
Unohana nodded. "Thank you, Akiyama-san. I suspected as much. Now, I need you to go get the medicinal tea from Storage Room D, Section 4, Row 3, Shelf 1. While you're at it, grab the pain pills from the same row, but Shelf 3."
"Understood, Captain." Akiyama bowed and left the room. As her footsteps faded, Unohana turned to Shunsui and the others.
"Excuse me, but I will need all of you to leave the room so I can perform treatment on Ukitake-san. Once he is treated, I will explain things to you," she requested politely. Isamu and Chouko glanced uneasily at each other, but Aimi and Shunsui obeyed the captain of the 4th Squad immediately, and Isamu and Chouko soon followed.
After some time, the door to Jushiro's room opened again, and Unohana came out, taking off a pair of rubber gloves. Isamu went up to her at once.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Ukitake-san will wake up soon," Unohana began with the good news, "You are allowed to stay with him as long as your teachers know where you are." She gave them a pointed look before continuing, "Now, I believe that Ukitake-san would rather tell you about his illness himself, so I will leave most of the explaining to him when he wakes up. However, I will tell you that his case is not the first one that has been reported, but there is still no complete cure for it. I advise you all to make sure that he does not overexert himself from now on."
"Thank you very much, Captain Unohana." Aimi bowed deeply. The others voiced their thanks as well as they filed into Jushiro's room.
When Jushiro blinked open his eyes, he was surprised to see himself in a white room with harsh sunlight shining into his eyes. He made a disgruntled noise and raised one arm to shield his eyes. A sudden gasp nearby and quiet movement startled him, and he tried to sit up. A hand pushed gently on his chest, and there was a swishing sound as the window's curtains were drawn.
"You really gave us a scare, Ukitake," Isamu's voice made Jushiro drop his arm in surprise. He received an even bigger shock when he saw that Shunsui, Aimi, and Chouko were in the room as well.
"What happened?" Jushiro asked, his voice catching slightly.
"You collapsed, Ukitake-kun, remember?" Aimi reminded softly. Jushiro opened his mouth to come up with an excuse, but Chouko beat him to speaking.
"Don't lie to us, Ukitake," she said sternly, shooting him an angry glare, "We know about your illness. Captain Unohana told us."
Jushiro closed his mouth awkwardly as he became the center of attention.
"All Captain Unohana told us was that you have had this illness since you were born. Is that true?" Chouko asked.
Jushiro sighed. There was no point in trying to hide it any longer if they already knew. "Okay," he said, holding up his hands in surrender, "Okay. I'll tell you."
The four others got comfortable in their seats as Jushiro settled himself on the bed. "I was born with the illness that you were informed of. It's in my lungs, occasionally making me cough up blood. If the attack is worse enough, then I could pass out. There's no cure for this disease. My parents have tried everything already," he explained.
"Is your hair white because of the disease?" Isamu asked, "I thought it was strange that you had white hair but black eyebrows, but I figured that you would tell me if you wanted to."
Jushiro nodded. "During an attack when I was younger, I was bedridden for three days and my hair turned white during that time. I've tried cutting it to see if it grows out black, but as you can see, it doesn't." He gestured to his hair sadly.
"But why didn't you say anything?" Isamu inquired, "Why did you feel as though you needed to keep this disease a secret?"
Jushiro swallowed nervously. This part was probably the scariest thing that he had to do. "Well," he hesitated, "whenever other people found out that I was sick, they would avoid me and tell others not to come near me so..."
"Wait, wait, wait," Chouko held up her hands in a 'halt' motion, "Let me guess. You thought that we wouldn't want to hang around you anymore after we found out about your illness?"
"Yes..." Jushiro's whisper sounded like a clap of thunder compared to the dead silence that followed. Jushiro didn't dare look up to see the other four's faces. He was too afraid of what he might see there, and he was surprised by what Chouko said next.
"Are you kidding me?" Her bluntness made him look up.
"Huh?" That was all his stunned brain could allow him to say.
Isamu sighed. "What Shiba was trying to say was 'do you really think we'd leave you because you're ill?'"
Jushiro's mouth worked up and down as he processed what they were saying. "You mean...?" he choked out, hoping that what he thought was true.
Shunsui spoke this time. "We weren't friends with you because we thought you were healthy, Ukitake," he said, his gray eyes boring into Jushiro's brown ones, "We are friends with you because we like you as a person, and an illness isn't going to change that."
"Kyouraku-kun is right, Ukitake-kun," Aimi chimed in, "We don't care if you're sick. We're still your friends."
"That white hair actually looks pretty good on you," Chouko smirked, "Maybe you should start showing it off by doing hair-flips!"
"N-Never!" Jushiro protested rather vehemently, turning red as the other four laughed.
"Well, you seem to be enjoying yourselves in here," an amused voice sobered up the laughter at once as Unohana entered the room with a smile on her face. She approached Jushiro's bedside and asked, "How are you feeling, Ukitake-san?"
"Better," Jushiro replied truthfully.
"That's good," Unohana said, "The attack you had today was mainly triggered by the fever that you seem to have developed recently, probably from the rain storm last night. I've already given your body medicine for the fever, but I suggest you take it easy for the next day."
"Will I be able to attend class?" Jushiro asked hopefully, not wanting to end up missing lessons because of a fever.
"You may attend the classes of Kido Theory, Soul Society History, and Laws and Government of Seireitei," Unohana permitted, "But I suggest that you hold off on Zanjutsu, Hoho, and Hakuda tomorrow."
Jushiro nodded in assent.
"As for your illness, you are not the first case I've seen," Unohana continued, "The current captain of Squad 13 has it as well, and I've managed to find something that could help relieve your pain a bit." She took out a box and a bottle from her pocket and held them up. "The box is medicinal tea that will help keep your attacks at bay and helps you recover faster when you do get ill. The bottle contains pills that will help with the chest pain. Drop one pill in every cup of tea that you drink, and stir it until the pill is completely dissolved in the tea." She handed both items to him.
"How often do I...?" Jushiro broke off to cough and restarted, "How often do I drink the tea?"
"One cup in the morning, and one at night before you go to bed," Unohana answered, "Don't overexert yourself. Attacks come especially when you're stressed, exhausted, or ill. Also, make sure not to expose yourself to extreme temperatures. Being too hot or too cold can also trigger an attack."
"Yes, Captain Unohana," Jushiro answered, bowing as best as he could while remaining on the bed.
Unohana looked surprised. "I don't remember telling you my name."
"Oh, my friends told me that a 'Captain Unohana' told them that I was ill, and you're wearing a captain's haori, so you must be Captain Unohana," Jushiro pointed out.
Unohana smiled. "Indeed I am. Captain of the 4th Squad, Unohana Retsu. Nice to meet you all."
"Thank you for all of your help and advice, Captain Unohana," Jushiro answered formally.
"It is my duty," Unohana replied kindly, "As a healer, my job is to save any and all lives if possible." She turned to the door and said, "You are free to go, Ukitake-san. Take care of yourself."
I've got news, my dear readers. The terrifying thing called school has begun once again, but I am a sophomore this year. I'm guessing you know what that means. Yep, less updates for fan-fiction! Now, this doesn't mean that I'm stopping with the updates completely. I will still be working on the story using Microsoft Word, but I will be avoiding Internet because it distracts me from homework. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but my school likes to mentally torture the students there. :(