A couple of months had passed since Jūshirō came to the academy and so far everything was going well for him. He had gotten some friends and did find the classes interesting.
This morning however, he had woken up with a slight tight feeling in his chest.
"I'm not surprised I feel like this since I haven't been sick since I came here.
-But today of all days"
Today was the first day of mid-term tests to see how much the students had learned since they got to the academy.
"It's not that bad so let's hope it stays this way until the tests are over"
He then looked over at Shunsui and saw that he was still sleeping.
"Guess I better get ready and then wake him up so he won't be late"
He got up and changed to his uniform before standing next to his friend's bed.
"Kyōraku wake up"
No answer or reaction came from the other.
Jūshirō sighed before he grabbed a glass and threw the small amout of water in it at Shunsui's face which made him jolt up.
"What was that for Ukitake?"
"I tried calling your name to wake you up but you didn't hear me so I did the 2nd best thing.
-Get up and get changed. We have mid-terms today"
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that"
"How could you do that when the teacher told us yesterday?"
"Well..."
"You know what, you don't have to tell me why. Your focus was probably on one of the female students."
A small cough then escaped Jūshirō who covered his mouth with his hand.
When he removed it, he was glad to see there wasn't any blood in his hand.
"You okay Ukitake? You look paler than usual"
"I'm fine Kyōraku. No need to worry"
"If you say so"
Shunsui then got dressed and they left their room.
Later
Jūshirō, Shunsui and the rest of their class entered the dojo were Yamamoto waited.
"Good afternoon everyone"
"Good afternoon Yamamoto-sensei"
"Today I want to see how far you've all come by having you sparr one-on-one in pairs that I've decided.
-Tsunayashiro, Matsuoka you first"
"Yes sir"
The two got up and began their match.
One after one, the pairs showed their skills until Shunsui and Jūshirō were the only ones left.
"The rest of you may leave while I examine these two"
The other students got up and left the dojo while the two friends grabbed their Bokken.
"Begin!"
The two began and tried to hit the wooden swords out of each other's hands.
After a while, Jūshirō began to feel that the tightness in his chest was getting worse.
It distracted him long enough for Shunsui to get down and swipe his leg against Jūshirō's feet so he fell on his back.
"Guess I win"
Jūshirō nodded and Shunsui helped him up. But as soon as he was on his feet, wet coughs came from him and he feel to his knees.
"Ukitake what's wrong?"
Shunsui knelt down and saw the crimson droplets between Jūshirō's fingers.
"Kyōraku get him to the healers' wing now!"
"Yes sensei"
Shunsui took Jūshirō's arm and placed it over his shoulders to support him as they left the dojo.
They entered the main building and once they reached the healers' wing, Shunsui was almost carrying Jūshirō rather than supporting him.
"Anyone here?"
A slightly elder healer came froma room and saw them.
"What happened?"
"We were training with Yamamoto-sensei when he started coughing and blood came from his mouth"
"Okay. Bring him in here"
Shunsui followed her into a room were he placed Jūshirō on the bed.
"Could you please wait outside?"
"Of course"
Shunsui left the room and leaned against the wall opposite the door.
As he stood there, he saw a few more healers enter the room and one of them came up to him.
"You're the one who brought him here, right?"
"Yes"
"Could you answer a few question for me?"
"Of course"
"What's the student's name and which class is he in?"
"His name is Jūshirō Ukitake and he's in the first year advanced class"
"Okay.
-Can you tell me more in detail what happened?"
"We were having a sparring match with Yamamoto-sensei. I made him fall onto his back but not that hard. I helped him up and then he started coughing"
"I understand.
-Thank you for telling me"
She then returned to the room, leaving Shunsui alone in the hallway.
"When I told her his name, I couldn't help but notice the look in her eyes. It was as if she recognized it since earlier. I wonder why?"
About an hour later, the older healer came out to him.
"Your friend is okay now. But I want him to stay here for a few days just to make sure"
"I see.
-So what exactly happened to him?"
"He told me that he wanted to tell you himself"
"Okay"
"As soon as the others leave, you may go in
-I need to inform Yamamoto-sen about this"
Shunsui nodded and she left.
Once the other healers had left the room, he walked in and saw his friend laying against a few pillows to elevate him a bit.
"How are you Ukitake?"
"Better thanks to the healers"
"That's good"
Shunsui then sat down on the chair next to the bed and got this serious look in his eyes.
"So what's all this about?"
Jūshirō sighed and leaned back a bit more against the pillows.
"When I was three years old, I got very sick. My parents told me that every doctor they took me to abandoned me as a lost cause since it was incureable.
-They brought me to the shrine of a fallen god named Mimihagi as a last chance to save me. It did but I still suffer from the illness if I get too worked up, too hot or too cold"
"Is that also why you seemed paler this morning?"
"Yes.
-I didn't want to miss the tests today and I felt well enough this morning to go to class. But then during our sparrin match, I felt it get worse"
"Just like that?"
"Sometimes it just goes from okay to worse quite fast while other times, it takes days to get worse.
-Today was one of theose days it happened fast"
"I see.
-So why didn't you tell me the truth this morning? Aren't we friends Ukitake?"
"I didn't tell you because... I was afraid"
"Afraid of what?"
"That you didn't want to be close to me or wouldn't be able to handle the truth"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"When I was little, my siblings and I would play with other kids in the area. But as soon as they found out about me, they didn't want to play because they thought it would make me sick.
-Up until then they had treated me just like my siblings but when the truth came out, they couldn't handle it. My mother had to explain the situation to their parents who in turn told them"
Shunsui looked at Jūshirō and noticed the sad look in his eyes. He had no idea how tough his friend's past was.
He then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not going anywhere Ukitake. You're my friend and I'm not gonna let a thing like this get in the way of that.
-But please tell me the truth next time you don't feel well"
Jūshirō looked at him in surprise before smiling.
"Don't worry Kyōraku, I will"
"Call me Shunsui"
"Right... Shunsui"
The next day.
Shunsui forced himself out of bed an hour before class. He wasn't a morning person but he had promised Jūshirō to get him notes from the classes he'd miss.
He got up, changed to his uniform and walked to his first class.
"Hey, look who's on time and not hungover, said Koji"
"Be quiet Shiba, Shunsui said and sat down"
"Isn't Ukitake with you, Masaru asked.
-He's never late for class"
Shunsui looked at the two before turning away his head.
"Should I tell them? They are our friends but maybe it's better Jūshirō decides to tell them or not"
"Hey Kyōraku!"
Koji's yell got him out of his thoughts.
"Well, do you know?"
Shunsui was about to say something when the teacher came in.
"I'll tell you at lunch, he whispered to them"
He then got up and walked over to their teacher, showing him a note that the healers had asked him to show every teacher so they would know about Jūshirō.
Couple of hours later.
The final class before lunch was over and once they had sat down, Masaru and Koji waited for Shunsui to start talking.
"Relax you two. You look like I'm gonna tell you someone is dead"
"Excuse us for being worries about our friend, said Koji"
"Since Kyōraku is not worries, I don't thin we have to either, said Masaru"
"Listen to him Shiba, said Shunsui
-As for Jū... Ukitake, he's fine but needs to stay in the healers' wing for a couple of days"
"Why, Koji asked"
Shunsui sighed.
"A little thing happened yesterday during the sparring match we had.
-I'm not gonna tell you more than that. You have to ask him if you wanna know more"
"Okay, then we'll go see him later once all classes are over, said Koji"
"I think we should wait, said Masaru
-If it was bad enough for him to end up in the healers' wing, it's better if we wait and ask him once he's able to return to class"
Koji looked at him before he sighed.
"Fine"
Shunsui chucked at how easily the Shiba heir gave up.
"Juding by the healers, he should be back by the end of next week"
"Okay, said both"
Once everything was done for the day, Shunsui made his way to the healers' wing.
In his hand he carried the book of notes he had taken during the day along with a few papers from their teachers.
"Hey Jūshirō, how are you, he asked as he entered the room"
"I'm feeling better than yesterday"
"That's good to hear.
-I brought you notes from the classes you missed today and the teachers also added a few things as well"
He handed the notebook to his friend who took it.
"Thank you. I appreciate that you're doing this"
"Wouldn't want you to fall behind just because you're sick.
-The teachers also wated me to assure you that you can take the med-terms you miss once you're well enough to return to class"
"That's good to know"
Shunsui nodded and smiled at his friend before he sat down and they looked over the notes.