Beyond Words
Chapter 4
Isane was worried when her Captain did not emerge from her apartments for the four days succeeding Ukitake's admission into their care. Unohana still somehow managed to tend to the day-to-day administration of the Fourth Division and continued to give orders vis-à-vis her treatment of the Thirteenth Division Captain. While Isane had seen her Captain open the door to her rooms to admit Nemu (who presumably brought Kurotsuchi's analysis of Ukitake's coughed out bit of lung), Kyoraku (who looked remarkably sober), old Yamamoto (who pottered in to look in on his favourite protégé), and Kurotsuchi Mayuri (who must have devised a new drug or other as per her Captain's request), she noticed that Unohana allowed no one from the Fourth Division into the sickroom. Anxiety however led her to burst into Unohana's room on the evening of the fourth day where she found the drawn lady carefully sponging her patient.
"Did Kurotsuchi taichou leave something behind?" Unohana asked calmly when she saw her lieutenant. "If you run, you'll be able to catch him. He left a few minutes ago."
"No, it's nothing," mumbled Isane in embarrassment at the kind enquiring smile of her Captain. She was about to beat a hasty retreat when she saw the untouched food trays near the door. Spinning abruptly around by her heels, the lieutenant carefully took in Unohana's appearance. There was ostensibly nothing wrong with the Captain for her face still wore the same tranquil countenance and her hair was remained in its neat customary braid in front of her. However, she had removed her Captain's overcoat and placed it neatly over a chair with the clothes Rukia had brought for her Captain should he recover. It was not lost on the purple-silvery haired shinigami that her Captain's formerly kind eyes now looked slightly worn. "Taichou," ventured Isane carefully, "have you eaten at all these days?"
"Only tea and the work-like-a-pack-mule pills. Oh, Kyoraku taichou ate from the second tray, he complimented your cooking and suggested you share the recipe with Ise-san," came the serene reply as the healer proceeded to massage a strange ointment on to the unconscious Captain's chest. Judging from the viscous consistency and the Twelfth Division insignia emblazoned on the jar, it was undoubtedly Kurotsuchi Mayuri's latest medical opus.
Isane's eyes brimmed with concern as she sought to feebly protest against her superior's starvation. "Taichou, why don't you rest…"
"It's all right, I know you're a sweet young lady," Unohana cut her lieutenant off before the younger Shinigami could continue. "I will have plenty of time to rest when Ukitake taichou is back on his feet. How are his third seats? Still shaken?"
Isane kneeled on the futon and noticed that it was unused and her eyes swept expressively across to her Captain, whom she knew had remained awake to tend to her charge.
"Kiyone's still crying and Kotsubaki's berating himself for not looking after his taichou properly," she said, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
"Poor dears, give them some of my umeboshi. That always cheers people up," was the placid answer as the Fourth Division head combed her patient's hair. "You would like that too, wouldn't you Ukitake taichou?" she murmured gently. "You shall have a whole barrel when you recover. Put aside a barrel for him, Isane-san."
"Hai, taichou. When will Ukitake taichou wake up?"
"When he's slept off the attack and recovered some of his strength. Don't worry; he's on the road to recovery." Unohana paused as she reached for a comb. "Has the extra charcoal rations arrived?"
"Hai, taichou."
"Good, please inform Sakurai-san to boil enough water for a bath. Have Satoh-san bring the basin up here, I need to wash up."
"Taichou," cried Isane, moving towards Unohana with wringing hands. "Forgive me for my useless. I should be helping you instead of standing around. Please take a rest. You look overworked."
Unohana only smiled and quietly patted her lieutenant's hands. "My dear Isane-san, you are not useless. You are a capable, lovely young woman. There are times in life when we need to take responsibility for certain obligations. Oftentimes, these obligations are of a personal nature. It would be irresponsible to shirk them off. There's no escape from obligations, remember that, dear. Self-pity leads to regret and it's not very pleasant to regret everything. Come, wipe your tears and you may sit here with me."
Deeply touched by the maternal tone of voice, Isane nodded and dabbed her eyes with sleeves. She was about to ask whether she should make some tea when a slight movement of the patient's hand caught her eye. "Taichou…"
Unohana followed her subordinate's eyes to Ukitake's gently quivering fingers. Gently taking the patient's hand into her own, she leant forward and channelled a part of her spiritual essence to his lungs. "Breathe normally, Ukitake taichou," she murmured, as her other hand massaged his chest region. "Just a little more and you'll have umeboshi and sake with Kyoraku taichou. Do you feel my reiatsu? Follow the warmth; follow my voice. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."
The coaxing earned Unohana a gentle pressure on her hand. "Welcome back," she whispered in his ear with a lopsided little smile, without releasing his hand, "Ukitake Jyuushiro."
The patient's eyes fluttered briefly, but before Unohana could persuade Ukitake of the benefits of a few more hours sleep, she felt the room spin. Wait a moment, her brain said, the nutritional fortification pills are not supposed to wear out for the next twelve hours. Ah, I see, she reasoned to herself. She had requested Hanatarou to retrieve some from the medical division. Her lips pursed into a strange knowing smile. The fourth seat there must have played a trick on the poor boy and given him placebo pills. Rather than give in to the desire to faint, she mentally urged her body not to collapse as she called for her lieutenant. "Isane-san, please scold Tahara-san for giving Yamada-san fake nutritional fortification pills. I will speak to him personally later."
"Taichou…" exclaimed Isane as she rushed forward to support her Captain whom she noted could not rise even though she wanted to.
"This is my limit, I can't keep it up any much longer," Unohana simply said in a quiet voice when she gave her free hand to Isane. "Four and a half days without sleep is a new record in this Division," she joked whilst mentally chiding herself for her lack of exercise. "I will be all right in a while. Go lecture Tahara-san. I can make my way to the futon myself. Isane-san, please leave me now."
The no-nonsense tone from Captain Unohana momentarily chilled the tall lieutenant. She hesitated for a spilt second because her superior spoke in a fairly cross manner. However, she soon retreated from the room with the trays when she decided that disobeying a direct order was worse.
As soon as the sliding door closed, Unohana gently squeezed her patient's hand and lost consciousness.
He heard footsteps, sounds of a door sliding, a strong warm sensation beckoning him, and a gentle voice calling out to him. He saw no reason why he should not follow the voice and the warm feeling, so he did and found himself moving from a hollow world of darkness to one that smelled of green tea with a hint of bergamot. Curious as to the source of the aroma, Ukitake slowly opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the unfamiliar room. For a brief moment, his groggy brain was unable to process his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was collapsing in his room and following the sounds of a warm, comforting voice promising umeboshi. This was most certainly not his futon, he reflected. His futon did not smell of green tea and bergamot. Ah, it made sense then, he mumbled to himself. He must have been transported to the Fourth Division, that's why everything smelled like her. Pushing himself up, he discovered (to his keen embarrassment) that he was naked and there was someone holding on to his right hand. When he discovered that the hand was attached to the Fourth Division Captain, he blushed slightly and sought to move her hand without waking her.
After a few unsuccessful attempts at freeing himself from the strangely tenacious grip, Ukitake decided the next best course of action was to assess his surroundings. The room was the same size as his, but the way in which it was decorated made it look larger. There were shelves of books in a corner next to the desk, as well as shelves containing vials and other strange containers. A painted screen with a mauve coloured kimono flapped carefully over it indicated that it was the spot where Unohana changed her clothes. A low table and a tea set near the doors to the balcony told the sickly Thirteenth Division Captain that she enjoyed looking out at the night sky and contemplating matters while drinking tea. The futon on the other side of the bed looked well kept – too well kept. As such, he deduced that she had not had any sleep since he was admitted into the Fourth Division's care. Wait, how long have you been here, his brain asked as his eyes darted back to the sleeping form who had just relinquished her grip on his hand. Driven by curiosity, he crept out of her bed and dressed himself. A note on the desk detailing his illness ever since his admittance caught his eye. "Oh, so I've been a burden to you for that long," he whispered, covering the sleeping Unohana with her Captain's overcoat. "Thank you, for giving me hope."
"Hmm," she murmured, stirring. "Isane-san?"
A light cough brought her back to her senses. "Oh, Ukitake taichou, you're awake," she greeted matter-of-factly, keeping her delight in check with her usual composed smile. "You shouldn't be up yet; you haven't regained your strength. Please allow me to send for something nutritious."
"No, I don't need anything," he replied, backing towards the door. Whatever Kyoraku's views on the matter, Ukitake was brought up as a gentleman and he knew that he had no business in a lady's chambers. Besides, he wasn't the sort of man to intentionally sully a lady's reputation.
"There's no need to feel embarrassed, Ukitake taichou. Healers are very professional. You may rest assured that your body experienced no untoward trauma and endured no molest," Unohana quietly said with something akin to humour playing in her eyes.
"I didn't mean you or your people would… I mean…" stammered Ukitake, uncharacteristically flustered.
"I quite understand your reservations; you were voted the handsomest Shinigami after all. I bought the calendar. Let me assure you, all the necessary precautions were taken. I looked after you personally. There were no voyeurs or molesters," Unohana stated, opening another sliding door. "There's a spare bedroom next door. Everything you may need is there. Your privacy is ensured. Shall I send for Kyoraku taichou? I'm sure he's anxious to see you."
"No, it's Friday. He's likely drinking with Matsumoto Rangiku. The girl hasn't been the same since we killed Ichimaru at…" he allowed his voice to trail off.
Unohana nodded her understanding and tightened her grip on the coat around her shoulders. "Ah well, if you have thoughts of joining them, may I recommend abstinence from sake for a fortnight at least, Ukitake taichou. If you can, also encourage Matsumoto-san to come for counselling. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall see it to it that food is sent to you. Are you amenable to umeboshi-chazekue?"
The Thirteenth Division choked a feeble protest. "I don't want to put you through the trouble. We can just talk and have tea outside..."
"Only after, you've regained your strength. You mustn't over-exert yourself. And don't think of leaving until I've discharged you," she cautioned, handing him the clean handkerchief. "Yours, I believe. Do remember that it's proper to wash one's things, Ukitake taichou."
With those words, she left the room. Ukitake heard her footsteps ebb away and smiled sheepishly to himself with the thought, "There's hope for me yet. She didn't say no."
7