A.N. Happy day 14! 24 hours from now I'll be done exams and be free for nearly a month – to all those writing exams: stay strong! The end is in sight! I'd originally planned this to be a lot longer but I think maybe I'll just make it into two parts, or it would be too long. Hopefully that makes some sense, enjoy!

When Wonderweiss had thrust his arm through Ukitake's chest, Shunsui's heart had stopped beating. The look of shock on Jūshirō's face had been genuine, and time had seemed to stand still for a moment, before Wonderweiss had moaned and Shunsui had come back to his senses. He'd acted instinctually, flash stepping behind Wonderweiss and raising his arm to prepare to strike Wonderweiss out of the sky. The blood pounding in his ears had been the only thing he could hear, the rest of his senses had become numb as he'd zeroed in on his target.

Which is why he hadn't noticed Starrk's approach until the gun was pressed against the centre of his back.

The next thing he remembered was Lisa-chan's approach. For a moment, he thought for sure that he had died, or was dreaming – how else could Lisa-chan be there? It had been a small respite to see his former lieutenant, but as soon as she'd gone all of his attention had become focused again on Ukitake. He'd watched his best friend impaled through the chest; Ukitake's health was fragile at the best of times. There was no way that wound hadn't damaged his lungs. As the thoughts whirled through his mind Shunsui found his hope of Ukitake's survival begin to dwindle, he couldn't sense Jūshirō's spiritual pressure at all. It was either incredibly low, or entirely non-existent, which didn't provide any comfort.

The second round with Starrk had been one of attrition. He'd seen what the Espada could do, and the battle needed to be over so medical aid could be given to Ukitake and the undoubtedly many others that needed it.

When the battle was over Shunsui found himself whisked away to the Fourth, and despite his protests, he was held as a patient. His wounds were low priority, through, in the triage, so he spent his time waiting for treatment pacing the at Ugendō. Ukitake had already been in surgery buy the time he got there, so he'd decided to go and pack his friend and overnight bag to make his stay more comfortable. By the time he got back to the Fourth, Ukitake was out of surgery but wasn't allowed any visitor. It didn't matter, Shunsui spent the next couple of hours having his own wounds tended to, the scar from the cero on his back had required quite extensive treatment.

Later on, when it was permitted, he sat at Ukitake's bedside. His skin colour virtually matched his hair, which was ghastly, but it was the bandages that wrapped around most of his chest and torso that worried Shunsui the most. Shunsui knew that the Twelfth division was capable of many things, but they must have had to regenerate at least parts of both of Ukitake's lungs; and the battle had only been over for a few hours. He was grateful nonetheless, because he'd been assured that Ukitake would wake up, but something didn't sit right in his mind, and he spent the night in an uneasy state.

Ukitake woke up three days after the battle, and Shunsui was glad to see that he seemed to be acting like his normal self within a few hours. It was hard to discern how much his injuries were truly bugging him, Ukitake spent a lot of time at the Fourth division and had developed a high pain tolerance.

"You seem to be breathing well," Shunsui said a few hours after Ukitake had woken.

Jūshirō inclined his head, "Yes, I'm quite surprised as well."

"Considering how badly they must have been damaged," Shunsui continued.

Jūshirō's brows furrowed, "I don't understand. What are you trying to say, Kyōraku?"

"I'm not sure," Shunsui said after a moment. "Something just isn't sitting right when I think about the events of the past couple of days. I mean, no offense Ukitake but you should have died three days ago."

"People have been telling me that I should be dead my whole life, Kyōraku. I guess I'm just stubborn."

Shunsui shrugged, "I guess."

Ukitake was released from the Fourth division three days later. He was still a little too pale for Shunsui's liking, and a bit unsteady on his feet, but other than that there was no reason to keep him confined to bed. He'd visited Ukitake at Ugendō until his friend was able to resume his duties in his division, and then they'd gone back to their normal schedule – or lack thereof – for seeing each other.

That was, until Ukitake had showed up at his door in the middle of the night about a month after the attack.

Shunsui had initially been confused when he'd heard someone knocking. He hadn't been sleeping, but it was still strange that someone would drop by to visit him at that time of the night. It was even stranger when he realized it was Ukitake; normally his friend would just let himself in, regardless of the time.

"Ukitake?" Shunsui asked when he opened the door.

Jūshirō's face was grim. "We need to talk…or rather, I need to tell you something," he said as he stepped past Shunsui into his home.

Although confused, Shunsui boiled water for some tea for his friend – and some sake for himself – and brought them out to the back porch. He said nothing as he took a seat next to Ukitake, and they sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Shunsui couldn't remember the last time Ukitake had been so tense, his spine was liable to break if he didn't relax his posture.

"Please le me say everything I need to. Don't interrupt. I haven't told anything this in centuries, and I had been hoping to avoid it but I'm not sure for how much longer this can remain a secret."

Shunsui frowned as his own levels of apprehension began to rise. He couldn't imagine what could be so serious as to garner this type of behaviour from Ukitake.

When Ukitake did begin to speak, the words seemed to pour out of his mouth at an alarming speed. Shunsui could hardly keep up at Jūshirō explained the history of his illness, a one-eyes God called Mimihagi-sama, and the kamikake ritual. The majority of it didn't make sense to him, Shunsui had never heard of such a God, and he'd certainly never heard of one that would extend life in exchange for taking it at a later point. However, he remained true to his word and didn't interrupt. By the time he was done, Ukitake seemed to have exhausted himself from the explanation, and Shunsui could sympathize about the heavy burden something like that would be to carry.

They lapsed into silence for a moment before Shunsui whistled, tipping his head sideways to look at his fellow captain.

"Wow. I have to admit I wasn't expecting anything like that. Who else knows about this?"

"Genryūsai-sensei knows, you two are the only ones within the Gotei 13 who know about this."

Shunsui took a long drink of his sake, buying himself a moment of time before he had to say anything else. In truth he was still processing the information. Eve though the likelihood of needing such an ability was rare, it still meant that when he did use it, Ukitake would die. The thought made it hard to swallow; Ukitake's allegiance to the Gotei 13 was well-known, and he probably wouldn't hesitate when the time came.

Shunsui wrapped an arm around Ukitake's shoulders before pouring some sake into his friend's now empty tea cup. When Jūshirō gave him a questioning look, Shunsui just grinned.

"Sounds to me like you're damned either way, what's one drink going to hurt?"

Jūshirō shook his head and laughed quietly, but took a sip nonetheless. They spent a good portion of the night sitting out on the porch, sometimes reminiscing and other times remaining quiet. When the first hint of light began to rise on the sky Ukitake rose, and clasped Shunsui on the shoulder when he turned to walk away.

"Thank you," Jūshirō said quietly so as not to disrupt the peaceful silence too much.

Shunsui looked up, but when he would have said something in reply Jūshirō tipped his hat down over his eyes.

"The company was enough," Jūshirō said, before walking back into Shunsui's home, presumably to put away the cup and teapot.

Shunsui smiled softly, and he lay back on the porch and watched the stars long after Jūshirō had gone, dozing intermittently. The prospect of Jūshirō's death weighed heavily on his mind, but in the end it was their duty as captains of the Gotei 13. One that many before them had made, and one that they would fulfill bravely when the time came.