Title: Silken Thorns

Characters: Unohana, Seinosuke

Prompt: #007 – Sheep

Word Count: 997

Rating: PG

Summary: Unohana needs to bring her straying vice-captain into line. With great courtesy, of course.

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: All characters and settings of Bleach are the property of Kubo Tite.

Silken Thorns

The urgent care wing of the Fourth was not the most cheerful of places at the best of times, but an especially gloomy air seemed to permeate it today. Sadly, it was not the first time that such a mood had come over it, and would not be the last. Seinosuke was an exemplary healer, but his attitude often left something to be desired.

Retsu held down her reiatsu as she followed that of her vice-captain; he was hard at work and thus very easily found. She stopped just outside the doorway of the patient's room. Seinosuke's back was to her, and the patient's eyes were closed – though she sensed that he was indeed conscious. Her presence went unnoticed, just as she wished.

"You might consider yourself lucky not to have lost this leg." Seinosuke spoke as he worked, hands surrounded by a gentle green glow. If only his tone could carry that gentleness rather than the blandness that came through. "But if you were actually lucky, you wouldn't have gotten hurt this badly in the first place. Frankly, I don't know what you're relieved about. You nearly bled to death. That doesn't strike me as something to be happy about. Almost dying isn't good."

Retsu frowned. There he went again, destroying the morale of one of his patients. She was all for honesty, but there was no excuse for this attitude, especially when it had been proven that being in good spirits aided recovery. The man needed to keep these kinds of dismal thoughts to himself.

"I've seen people die from less serious injuries than this, you know," he continued. "Took too long to get to them, or they got infected and illness killed them in spite of all efforts. But really, just how stupid were you being when that Hollow got its teeth into you?"

The patient turned his head away in shame. All right; that was enough. She would not allow this to continue. Seinosuke needed to learn.

She smiled benignly and clasped her hands in front of her. "Yamada-fukutaichou. When you are finished with the treatment, may I have a word with you?"

At that, Seinosuke stiffened, his shoulders straightening and the healing aura fading from his hands. He stilled for a moment before bowing his head again and continuing his work. "But of course, Captain. This will only take a moment more."

The patient's relief was palpable, the aura of the room suddenly seeming far less oppressive. Retsu gave the man a nod of sympathy. Seinosuke was not an encouraging presence, and she would not begrudge anyone who felt uncomfortable in the man's company.

Seinosuke rose to his feet at last, his shoulders settling into their usual hunch. He offered the patient a small bow. "Do have a pleasant afternoon. But don't try walking on that leg at all, no matter how good it feels right now. You'll just trip and break it again if you do. We're both tired of this, right?"

"Yamada-fukutaichou," Retsu scolded mildly, her voice containing only the slightest edge. She glanced pointedly at the hallway before stepping in that direction herself. Even when he knew she was watching, he said such things. Terrible.

He bowed at the waist when he joined her in the hall. "What is it you wished to see me about, Unohana-taichou?"

"Your tone rather suggests that you already know." She regarded him steadily. He was not a fool; he knew what this was about. "I have told you before to mind how you speak to a patient, and yet you seem to be having great difficulty in taking those words to heart. Yamada-fukutaichou, please look me in the eye when I am speaking to you."

His eyes had been very obviously trained upon the wall in order to avoid hers. At her command, though, they snapped over to her face, widening a bit from their usual lazy droop. His hands twitched nervously, which she noticed in spite of his efforts to hide it.

"I-I . . . My humblest apologies, Captain." Seinosuke struggled to keep from looking away, and to his credit, he managed it. "I truly meant nothing untoward by my words, I assure you. I was merely being honest."

Retsu's expression remained utterly neutral despite the feeble excuse. "There is a difference between being honest and destroying morale. You know this; you are an intelligent man. That you continue to behave in this manner suggests intent."

Seinosuke shook his head vigourously. "No, no. I swear that there was no intent. I just misspoke, is all."

Sometimes, Retsu wondered whether Seinosuke ever expected her to believe that. This was not the fist time that he had used this as his excuse. He had such potential to be even more of an asset to the division than he already was. It was the reason she had selected him as her vice-captain even with all of his shortcomings. But he would often stray, making her feel like a shepherdess who was in danger of losing one of her flock. She hoped that one day her efforts would pay dividends.

"I would suggest that you make more of an effort not to misspeak in the future. You do no one a service by depressing them. You may continue your duties now, but I shall observe you. Perhaps this will make it easier for you to think before you speak." Her voice was perfectly calm and smooth, even as she reprimanded him.

Seinosuke paled, and his hands twitched even harder. Even so, he nodded obediently as she knew he would. "As you wish, Unohana-taichou. And perhaps it will."

She wordlessly bid him to move along, and he complied instantly, shoulders drooping even more than usual. She followed close behind him, hands still neatly clasped in front of her. Seinosuke was as the very least an obedient sheep, and always had been. Perhaps one day she would no longer have to herd him in such literal fashion.