Chapter 1:
Yumichika's breathing was shaky, his remaining strength barely keeping him awake. It didn't matter. All that mattered, was that Ikkaku be saved. That's all that mattered to Yumichika in that moment...
"Yumichika...?" Ikkaku asked, looking up at the pretty-faced man. "You should stop. You're going to drain all your spirit energy and waste it on healing me if you don't stop..."
"I'm well...aware of that Ikkaku..." Yumichika replied. "I need to save you.."
"Need to?" Ikkaku muttered. "I'm not worth.."
"Don't say that!" Yumichika yelled angrily. "Don't say you aren't worth anything because it's not true!"
Ikkaku sighed. "How would you know what I'm worth Yumichika?"
Yumichika's eyes were brimmed with tears. "Because I know what kind of person you are..."
Ikkaku looked at him.
"So don't say that again Ikkaku Madarame... Or I'll kill you myself."
"Oooh. Scary." Ikkaku said sarcastically.
Yumichika sighed. "You never change."
Yumichika finished stabilizing Ikkaku's condition and tore part of his uniform off, to act as a bandage for the time being. He needed to get Ikkaku to the Squad 4 barracks for proper treatment. Surely Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu would be able to fix him up.
He finished wrapping Ikkaku's wounds, which, since he was using his uniform, he had used the whole top part of his kimono. He stood up and helped Ikkaku to his feet, in which they were closer than Yumichika originally anticipated. He blushed bright red and backed away a little. He draped Ikkaku's right arm, the one that wasn't broken, over his shoulder and helped him walk.
"Should I use flash step (shunpo)?" Yumichika asked Ikkaku. "It would be faster, but I'm not sure if I should..."
"Just do it." Ikkaku said without any emotion, looking off into the distance. "I don't wanna die today..."
"Alright then," Yumichika said. "Flash Step it is.."
He looked at Ikkaku. Something had changed about him. That expression on his face... Was it sorrow? Or pain? Or...
"Hey!" Ikkaku said suddenly. "Are you gonna stare at me all day blushing like that or are we going to Unohana's place?"
Yumichika was flustered. If it were even possible, he was blushing more than before. "Ummm. Yeah! Yeah! Let's get going now Ikkaku!" He laughed kinda nervously, the laugh dying in his throat after the first two chuckles.
He bit his lip, looking down at the ground. Then he used flash step. Eventually, after several jumps, they arrived in front of Squad 4's barracks.
Yumichika slid the door open. "Hello?" he called. "Captain Unohana? Lieutenant Kotetsu? Yamada? 3rd seat Iemura? Is anyone here?"
"What is the matter 5th seat Ayasegawa?" he heard Captain Unohana say. "Oh.. I see. 3rd seat Madarame was injured in battle. Bring him this way. I will do everything I can to help him."
"Yes Captain." Yumichika followed the Captain to an empty room. Yumichika helped Ikkaku lay down on a bed.
Unohana began inspecting the wounds. "I thought he was in a much worse state than this..." She turned to Yumichika. "Did you happen to use kido to try and heal some of his injuries?"
"Yes." he answered reluctantly. "I did. It was the only option I had at the time..."
"I see." she replied. "Well it's a good thing you did 5th seat, or else I'm sure Madarame wouldn't be alive right now..."
"I couldn't let him die..."
"I understand." Unohana turned to Yumichika. "You're going to have to leave while I patch him up."
Yumichika really wanted to stay with Ikkaku, but he had no other choice. He had to follow orders. "Yes Captain...I...understand..."
Yumichika decided to use the time to change clothes. He arrived at Squad 11's barracks in a matter of minutes and quickly changed, avoiding any of the Squad members if possible. Especially the Captain. He'd surely want a full report. And Yachiru would make fun of Ikkaku's 'stupidity' for getting hurt so badly. He did not want to deal with that at the moment. He put on his outfit, completed with his orange turtle-neck piece, connected to a part sleeve on his right arm.
He sighed and looked in the mirror. Normally, he would be overjoyed at seeing his beautiful self, but not this time. This was the first time he had looked in a mirror and frowned at what he saw. He couldn't help but to think...Something...Someone...is missing from this picture...
Ikkaku...
Yumichika sighed sadly and walked out of his room and out of the barracks. He looked at the 11 symbol on the building, then turned around, heading back to Squad 4's barracks...