After spending three weeks with his family, recovering from the loss of his father, Jūshirō decided to go back to the academy.
He made sure to leave so he would arrive when everyone else was in class since he wanted to surprise the others.
But before doing anything else, he was gonna go see Yamamoto.
Jūshirō knocked on the door to the office and waited for the okay to come in.
"Ah Jūshirō, you're back"
"Yes. I arrived just a few minutes ago"
"How's your family?"
"Better. It was hard the first couple of days but at least we have each other"
"That's good.
-So you're ready to get back to classes?"
"From tomorrow, yes"
"Then use this day as you want and I'll see you during Zanjutsu tomorrow"
"Yes sensei"
Jūshirō bowed before leaving the office, making his way to his room.
He walked in and found a bit of a mess in there and sighed.
"Shunsui is worse than Kenji and the twins sometimes when it comes to cleaning"
He put his bag on his bed and started to clean up a bit, placing papers on their desks and putting trash in a bag to throw away later.
"Well, that's better.
-I know I was gone for three weeks but how he managed to get the room that messy in that amount of time..."
He just shook his head with a slight smirk.
"Wonder what the others will think when the see that I got back without telling them"
Voices were then heard outside and Jūshirō recognized them right away.
"Guess I'll find out soon"
He sat down on his bed and waited for the door to open.
"Glad this day is over, said Shunsui"
"Stop complaining Kyōraku, said Yamato"
"Yeah, and besides..."
Masaru wasn't able to say more since he noticed Jūshirō .
"Well, welcome back Ukitake"
Jūshirō smiled and couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on Koji and Shunsui's faces.
"When did you get back, Koji asked"
"Earlier today"
"And you didn't send a message to tell us?"
"I guess I wanted to surprise you a bit"
The others looked at him and after a moment, they smiled.
"Good to have you back, said Yamato"
"Thank you"
The four of them then sat down.
"So how was everything back home, Masaru asked"
"It was hard the first days and about a week after the funeral but we had each other and that helped through the tough time"
"That's good to hear, said Yamato"
"What about that thing you said about you becoming family head, Koji asked"
"I thought I was but my aunt and great-uncle said they'll take care of everything until I graduate"
"Can they do that, Shunsui asked"
"My great-uncle is kind of the clan elder so a few decision are his to make and my aunt has helped my father many times"
"Good to hear things went well for you then, said Masaru"
"Yes. And while I love spending time with my family, especially since I'm away for long periods of time, I wanted to get back here as soon as I could.
-After all, we still have a long way to go before we're ready to become Soul Reapers"
The four all got smirks on their faces.
"And we'll all continue to fight hard in order to acchieve that, said Yamato"
"Yeah, we'll graduate and become the best Soul Reapers, said Koji"
"And we'll always have each other's backs, said Shunsui"
"Both now and after graduation, said Masaru"
Everyone held out their hands and placed them on each other.
"Because our friendship is that strong, said Jūshirō"
Next day.
It felt good to be back at the academy and with his friends but Jūshirō was having a bad feeling about the day since he woke up not feeling 100%.
He hadn't been outside when it was too hot or too cold and he didn't feel stressed about anything so he wasn't sure what it was coming from.
"It's not that bad. Probably just a one day thing so I don't think I'll have to skip class or anything"
He got up and got ready for the day before waking Shunsui and they walked to their first class.
Later during Hakuda, Jūshirō was paired up with Koji which he felt wasn't the best since the Shiba heir usualy gets very hype during class and hits a bit harder than necessary.
"I can't do anything against it. I just have to be careful against him"
He managed to block and dodge Koji's kicks and puches very well until he blocked a punch and Koji was sly enough to use his other hand to hit him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him.
Jūshirō felt the coughs make their way up his throat and fell on one knee, a hand over his mouth.
Shunsui was quickly by his side, a hand on his back.
While it wasn't as bad as the last time, Shunsui could still see red drops between Jūshirō's fingers.
"Sensei permission to take him to the healers' wing"
"Granted"
Shunsui nodded and helped Jūshirō get up before they left the room.
Once out in the hallway, the dark-haired student turned to his friend.
"Do you think you can walk there or should I carry you?"
"Cough... Not... Cough... sure"
"Okay. I'll carry you there then. Everyone shoulde be in class so you don't have to worry about anyone seeing us"
He then knelt slightly in front of Jūshirō, offering to carry him on his back which would be better if anyone happened to see them.
The white-haired student got on and Shunsui started walking towards the healers' wing.
"At least is not as bad as last time"
While he couldn't see Jūshirō's fact, Shunsui knew his friend was slightly smiling.
When he found out about Jūshirō's illness and heard how others had reacted, he decided to try and ease the mood those days it took over.
If it was a joke or just a fun comment didn't matter as long as his friend smiled thanks to it.
The walk to the healers' wing wasn't long and when he walked inside, Shunsui spotted Kiyoko.
"Kiyoko-san"
"Ah Kyōraku, what brings you here?"
She then hears Jūshirō cough and noticed him on the other student's back.
"I see.
-What happened this time?"
"Hakuda training. A classmate hit him a bit too hard and it must have knocked the air out of him"
"Okay.
-Come this way"
Shunsui followed her into a room were he carried Jūshirō to the bed were he put him down.
"I'll wait outside"
Kiyoko nodded and Shunsui walked out of the room were he leaned against the wall opposite the door.
"I hope none of the others noticed the blood on Jūshirō's hand when he coughed.
-If they did, they wanna know what happened and then, the truth about his illness will come out."
He sighed
"Kuchiki might be as understanding as I was when I found out. Maybe Shihōin will as well
-Shiba might overreact since it was his punch that made this happen. But he is understanding if he calms down enough"
Kiyoko then came out of the room and smiled.
"Everything is fine.
-I want him here over the night but he can go to class tomorrow"
"Good to hear.
-Do you know what caused it?"
"He said he's been feeling well so I guess this attack came as a surprise for him"
"It did... for us both"
"I see"
Kiyoko then stepped away from the door.
"You can stay until your next class"
"Thank you"
Shunsui bowed and walked into the room
"Told ya it wasn't as bad as the last time"
"I still need to be here until tomorrow"
"Don't worry, I'll get you notes like last time
-But I'm wondering if any of the others saw"
"Our whole class saw me fall on my knee and cough because Shiba hit a bit too hard"
"I mean if anyone noticed the small amount of blood you coughed up back there"
"Oh... that"
Jūshirō sighed and looked down at his hands.
"I guess I should tell them the truth"
"I'm surprised we managed to keep it hidden from them this long especially with how observant Kuchiki is"
There was silence between them until Shunsui stood up.
"I guess I have to get going to the next class
-I'm not gonna say anything to the others. I'll let you tell them tomorrow"
"Thank you"
Shunsui smiled and with a see you later, he left.
He got the books he needed from his room and made his way to class
As he had expected, the others were at him immediatley when he came into the room.
"Before you ask anything, Ukitake is fine and will be back tomorrow"
"Good, said Masaru"
"Now, you can tell us what's going on, said Koji
-You were by his side right as he started coughing and you seemed to know what was going on"
"We saw blood on his hand but you didn't panic or anything when you saw it, said Yamato"
Shunsui sighed and sat down.
"Yes I know what happened which I why I managed to stay calm.
-I'm not gonna tell you more than that since it's up to Ukitake to tell you the rest"
The others looked at each other before Yamato and Masaru nodded.
The next day, Shunsui meet up with Jūshirō and they went to class.
At lunch, they sat down with the others a bit away from other students.
"So what happened yesterday, Masaru asked"
Jūshirō looked at them and sighed before telling them about his illness.
"There's nothing to cure it, Yamato asked"
"I'm afraid not, I'll live with it for the rest of my life"
"Well it explains why Kyōraku knew about it if you told him last tim it happened, said Masaru"
"But why didn't you tell the rest of us, Koji asked"
"Of the same reason I had before telling Kyōraku
-I was afraid of how you would take it knowing about my health"
The three noble heirs looked at their friend and soon, smiles crossed their faces.
"Ukitake, this isn't gonna change our friendship, said Yamato"
"We're your friends because we like your personality and how kind you are, not your health, said Koji"
"So we won't go anywhere, said Masaru"
"If anything, we know now that we don't have to worry if you don't show up to class, said Yamato"
Jūshirō looked at them and with a pat on the shoulder from Shunsui, he too smiled.