Chapter 28 – Tuberculosis

Ukitake stared impassively, his gaze boring into the freshman. His question hung in the air, petrifying Ichigo. Instead of doing to smart, logical thing and denying the accusation, he blurted, "How could you tell?" Shiro reacted badly to that, and Zangetsu had to bodily hold the screaming Arrancar in his hideaway. Ichigo winced as he felt his reiatsu fluctuate ever so slightly from the struggle.

"Your zanpakuto emit two separate reiatsu signatures. The difference is small and extremely difficult to pick out, but it's definitely there. The zanpakuto with the black ribbon seems to be… darker than its counterpart. May I see your zanpakuto?"

Ichigo handed his zanpakuto to Ukitake hilt-first. After examining the two closely, Ukitake mumbled to himself, "This one almost seems to not be a Shinigami's zanpakuto, but that's impossible…" Now addressing Ichigo, Ukitake asked, "Which one is Zangetsu?" Ichigo pointed to the appropriate sword. "What's the name of this other one?"

Ichigo shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea."

"Hm." After inspecting the zanpakuto some more, Ukitake queried, "Do you know why you have two zanpakuto?"

Running with the same excuse he'd used on Hokkaido, Ichigo said, "I had a run-in with Urahara."

Like Hokkaido, Ukitake scowled at the name. "Urahara? No wonder," he snorted. It did explain the mysterious reiatsu fluctuations when Kurosaki had been asked about his zanpakuto. "Did he do anything else to you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Urahara is known for conducting malicious, soul-altering experiments…" Ukitake trailed off, his tact preventing him from adding, "Your soul has probably been altered more than what you think." The poor boy had enough on his mind already to keep the rest of the Gotei 13 from finding out about him… "Why do you want to be a Shinigami?"

Ichigo was startled by the sudden topic change, but he still told Ukitake the same half-truth he'd fed to Hokkaido: that his mother had been killed by a hollow, and that he wanted to keep others from feeling that pain.

Ukitake's expression softened. "You simply want to protect those around you? How honorable of you…" Ichigo waited as the captain mulled something over. "If the Central 46 finds out Urahara experimented on you, they'll either have you executed or turned over to the 12th squad."

"What?"

"Don't worry; I'm not about to turn you in." Ukitake began to smile reassuringly, but his expression turned to horror as an all too familiar pain lanced through his chest. He doubled over, hacking. Ichigo hovered over him, concerned, and became alarmed when blood spurted from the captain's mouth. He knelt by Ukitake's side and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Eventually the terrible coughs subsided, leaving Ukitake on his hands and knees, gasping for air.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he rasped.

"Sorry? There's no need for that. You need to go to the 4th squad for treatment, right?"

"Yes. Call Kaien; he'll take-" A couple more coughs wracked the captain's form.

Kaien seemed to have picked up on his captain's distress, and the lieutenant materialized in a shunpo beside his captain. "I'm sorry for being absent, captain; I was cleaning up a mess Kiyone and Sentaro made. I'll take you to the relief station right away," he babbled while gently picking up the sickly form. Kaien glared at Ichigo as if it was his fault that Ukitake had had an attack before vanishing.

Ichigo spent the rest of the day talking with his inner spirits and friends about the 13th squad's visit, which earned him several smacks from Rukia for "being spacey" and ruptured eardrums from Shiro for "spending too much time with his whiny friends". Still, even though Izuru insisted that the next time they'd see either Aizen or Ukitake would be at their graduation ceremony more than six years later, Ichigo had a funny feeling that he hadn't seen the last of the captain of the 13th division.

The instant Kaien set foot in the 4th squad's relief station with his unconscious captain in his arms, he was swarmed with nurses. One instructed Kaien to put Ukitake on a rolling bed that was being pushed by another, while others scurried around to find various helpful medicines and herbal remedies. A couple of nurses held glowing hands above the captain's chest while another ran off to find Unohana. The captain materialized next to the bed, which had been rolled into a solitary room by then, and began to use specialized healing techniques to treat Ukitake's illness. Unohana shooed everyone else out of the room, and when Kaien protested, one of the nurses threatened to tranquilize him to ensure his cooperation.

Finally, after what seemed to be hours, Unohana emerged, looking old and tired to anyone who knew her well. "Thank you for bringing captain Ukitake here so promptly. You saved him a lot of pain. He's awake and wishes to speak with you now." The words were barely out of her lips when Kaien bustled into the room.

"Are you alright, captain? I told you a week ago that you were too ill to visit the Academy," he chided. His voice then lowered, "I apologize, captain, for being unable to aid you quicker."

"I'll be fine, Kaien. You were able to get me here quickly, and I'm grateful for that. Don't beat yourself up." Ukitake noticed that his subordinate still looked guilty, so he abruptly switched subjects to take Kaien's mind off of his illness. "What do you think of Kurosaki?"

Kaien shot his captain a halfhearted glare as if he knew of Ukitake's intentions, but he still relaxed slightly as he answered, "He's a good kid. Powerful, too, especially with his shikai. I wouldn't be surprised if he has the capability to become a captain someday."

"Yes…" Ukitake trailed off, his expression souring as he remembered his talk with Kurosaki.

"Something bothering you, captain? Do you want me to get Unohana?"

Ukitake looked startled. "Oh, no, I'm just worried for Kurosaki…"

Kaien blinked. "What, does he have something that could get him in trouble with the higher ups?"

"He's one of Urahara's experiments," Ukitake sighed.

"What? What's something like that doing here, then?"

"He said he wants to protect those that are weaker than him, but I'm not sure if he's telling the whole truth or not."

"Truthful or not, it doesn't matter. Are we going to turn him in?"

Ukitake shook his head, looking queasy. "Can you imagine if Kurotsuchi got his hands on one of his mentor's former experiments?"

Kaien shuddered. "Point taken. But still, are we just going to let him run around at the Academy? He could be a ticking time bomb of sorts, even if he doesn't know it. Should we put him under surveillance or something?" Ukitake looked uncomfortable at the notion, but Kaien ignored the expression and mused, "We can't use the 2nd squad; you know who they report to…" Soifon was utterly ruthless and would not hesitate to permanently remove Kurosaki. "We could always use members of our own squad to watch him – I know that our squad has a few loyal people that were transferred from the Stealth Force. Captain Kyoraku would be willing to help, too, probably."

Ukitake kept silent while his subordinate chattered, his compassion warring with his logic. Eventually, though, Ukitake decided that the safety of the masses mattered more than the privacy of one, so he sighed, "Alright, fine. I really wish that this wasn't necessary…" He then gave his lieutenant an annoyed look. "You know that what we're doing is illegal on so many levels, right?"

Kaien grinned mischievously. "Yep!" he said cheerfully.

The door creaked open, and a deep voice said, "My, my, Jushiro. You certainly seem to be ending up in this place a lot more lately…"

"Shunsui!"

The laid-back captain smiled softly. "You sound so surprised, Jushiro. What, did you not expect your best friend to visit you while you're sick?" Ukitake responded with a glare before breaking into a smile at the expression of mock hurt on his friend's face. "So, how was your day at the Academy, aside from your attack?"

"Nostalgic. The campus has expanded so much since we were there… I was able to visit with one of our old teachers. Did you know that Tanikawa-sensei is still teaching zanpakuto meditation at the Academy?"

"Really? I'll have to visit the Academy sometime then… Not this year; the students have already been subjected to both you and Sosuke before the first semester is even over!" Kyoraku added hurriedly.

Kaien sat on one of the healers' chairs as his captain began rehashing the visit to his friend. The two captains seemed content to compare the current Academy to the one they'd attended centuries prior, occasionally asking Kaien for his opinion of the school. The conversation carried on until the last of the sun's rays had disappeared from the sky and a knock came from the door, the nurse on the other side saying that Unohana wanted all of Ukitake's visitors to be gone within the next half-hour.

Kyoraku sighed sadly, "Well, I guess it's time for me to go. But before I leave, I'm curious; what illegal thing were you talking about before I came in?"

Kaien repressed a groan. "This will take a while to explain…"

That Sunday's training session was very productive. Ichigo finally liberated Mastering Advanced Kido and Kido Spells 50 and Up from Kiyosugi's private library and began learning the techniques detailed within (if blowing holes in the ground until the spell matched the description in the textbook could be called learning). Surprisingly, the higher-level kido spells were easier to learn, since Ichigo could use and manipulate greater amounts of his reiatsu. The easiest types of spells to learn were simple blasts of reiryoku, such as hado 54: Haien. He also perfected two of the hado spells he'd created with his unique reiatsu control. He first was a ball of condensed energy that could fly around at high speeds and explode on contact. The second was like a Shinigami's version of a Cero.

The week was relatively peaceful, except for an incident during Wednesday's combined zanjutsu class that was later fondly dubbed by Ichigo as the Asauchi Incident.

"Alright, class! No doubt you've heard the rumor that we will begin practicing with asauchi instead of wooden swords starting next week, which is, in fact, true," Ikoto said brightly, causing enthusiastic murmurs to sweep through the classroom. "However, I pestered the headmaster enough to allow this talented class to get their hands on the asauchi early!" At this announcement, the whispers increased in volume and the students began shifting excitedly in their seats. "Don't get too happy yet," Ikoto warned. "Handling a real metal sword is not the same as handling a wooden one. I wouldn't be surprised if most of you will be spending the remainder of this class period just getting used to the increased weight." The students became crestfallen, but Ikoto ignored this in favor of calling them up one at a time to receive their asauchi. Despite Ikoto's disheartening words, they were still enthusiastic about getting the asauchi. Soon the training room was full of students doing simple slashes and thrusts to get used to the new weight. Ichigo remained sitting, relaxed, at the side, since his asauchi was almost pathetically light compared to Zangetsu.

"Kurosaki, why aren't you using your asauchi?" Ikoto frowned after approaching the freshman.

"I can wield it effectively. Don't worry about it," Ichigo said, eyes still closed from his dozing against the wall.

"Well, then, go help your classmates. The point of this class is not to sit on your butt and be lazy. Don't let me catch you sleeping again." With that Ikoto stalked off to help a student who had somehow embedded his asauchi in the wooden floor.

Ichigo sighed heavily, but got up and stretched. After securing his asauchi in his obi, he glanced around and made a bee-line for Izuru, who was handling the asauchi better than most of the other students. However…

"Izuru, you're overextending. You're not compensating for the weight of the blade and allowing it to drag you along after it. Make your movements slower and more controlled until you get the hang of it," Ichigo coached. Izuru did as Ichigo suggested and found the blade easier to handle. "Do you want to spar?"

Izuru looked startled by the idea. "Uh…"

"We can do it in slow motion," Ichigo suggested.

Izuru looked reluctant, but his desire to try out the blade against an actual opponent overrode his objections. "Alright."

The two freshmen then began to spar using slow movements and exaggerated motions. Izuru's arms soon began to burn from the unaccustomed weight of the asauchi, while his partner looked bored (half-asleep, even). Izuru's movements were sluggish, while even with the decreased speed, Ichigo's blade danced through the air gracefully.

Sometime in the middle of the match, a cry rose from the other side of the room as one of the students fell over onto the floor. Izuru lost his concentration and stumbled forward, asauchi extended. Ichigo blocked the blade easily, but was unprepared when Kaede (who was in the same class) overextended, lost her balance, and fell forward, accidentally impaling Ichigo through the gut. Kaede staggered away, horrified, while Izuru stared in shock at the bloody sword protruding from Ichigo's body mere inches from his nose. Izuru hurriedly stepped away from Ichigo, who was staring at the blade numbly. The sword hurt like hell, but at least he wasn't coughing up blood or stomach fluids.

At the sudden cease of movement and horrified gasps, Ikoto hurried over from the other side of the training room. Upon seeing the asauchi impaling his star student, Ikoto ordered roughly, "Abarai, Kira, get Kurosaki to the infirmary. Don't pull out the sword; we don't want him to bleed out…"

Upon hearing Ikoto's voice, Ichigo snapped out of his shock-induced funk. "I'll be fine. I'll just walk there myself…"

Ikoto and the other students gaped at Ichigo who, by all rights, should have been keeled over on the floor, unconscious, or at the very least, unable to move from the pain. "Yes, well," Ikoto spluttered, "You'd make us all feel better if you had an escort or two." Renji stepped forward, since Izuru looked a bit green from being in close proximity to the bloody sword that was sticking out of his friend's torso. Ichigo mentally sighed – he'd battled captain-level opponents with worse injuries, but he supposed that continuing training with a bloody hole through the abdomen or a sword sticking out of his gut would unnerve more than a few students… Speaking of which, Ichigo gripped the blade, heedless of the cuts he got on his hands, and roughly pushed the asauchi from his body. It collided on the floor with a dull thud. By this point, Renji had become thoroughly nonplussed by his friend, so he took Ichigo's shoulder and guided him to the door.

The few students with free periods looked absolutely horrified when Ichigo strode past them, blood pouring from the hole in his gut and his pale friend trailing behind him. The nurses' reactions were only slightly better, their queasiness from the blood replaced with the astonishment that Ichigo could function almost normally with such a horrid wound.

Naturally, the healing kido coupled with Ichigo's insane amount of reiatsu guaranteed that the wound had completely closed up in only a few hours. The next morning, the healers were absolutely horrified to find Ichigo stretching and working out as if he hadn't been impaled the day before, and when they removed the bandages, only fresh, pink scar tissue remained. After running multiple diagnostics spells and finding his innards to be mostly intact, the nurses released him with a dire warning that they wouldn't hesitate to keep him confined in the infirmary for a solid month if they thought he was overdoing it.

Kaede greeted Ichigo that day with multiple, breathless apologies, which Ichigo nonchalantly brushed off with the reassurance that he didn't blame her for the accident.

Both Shiro and Ichigo found the entire incident to be humorous, considering everyone's reaction to the stab. Really, to someone who'd taken Kenpachi Zaraki's best and survived, a simple stab wound was nothing at all…

The rest of the week passed with the rest of the students tiptoeing around Ichigo, marveling at his will to not be fazed by being stabbed clean through.

"You're just mad because you lost a little money, Sentaro!"

" 'A little money'? Only a little? Kiyone, you and Captain Kyoraku drained me of more than 100,000 yen! I'll be in debt for months! All because Kurosaki-" the name was spat like a curse, "-decided to have a little fun and stomp all over me for simply making the bet! It's unforgiveable!"

"So you decide to stalk him on his day off?"

"Exactly! I'll get you, Kurosaki!"

"It's too quiet around here. Where are Kiyone and Sentaro?" Kaien wondered at the 13th squad's barracks.

"I think I saw them last hovering at the fringes of the forest. Maybe they decided to hide in the woods for a lazy day?" his wife, the 3rd seat of the 13th squad, Miyako, suggested.

"Sentaro's been in a rage all this week from his bet with Kurosaki. I hope he isn't doing something stupid…" Kaien sighed. There were agents watching the freshman in twelve-hour shifts, but aside from Kurosaki's disturbing lack of reaction to an asauchi through the gut during one of his zanjutsu classes, the freshman seemed to be a normal student (albeit a very talented student). If Sentaro was running around at the Academy trying to extract revenge from Kurosaki, it would cause no end of problems for the 13th squad.

"I'll go look for them. Is that alright, captain?" Kaien asked.

"Go ahead," Ukitake acquiesced, seemly thinking along the same lines as his lieutenant. After Kaien had vanished, Ukitake continued, "Miyako, oversee the kido exercises today. I'll finish the paperwork." Ukitake eyed the enormous stack of paperwork with trepidation. It would take a miracle to complete it all before midnight…

I know, I know. Let's burn the authoress alive for leaving with such an evil cliffie, shall we? And then disappearing for weeks? *sigh* I'm really sorry guys. Seriously, I had enough material to post this a while ago, but most of the material was OOC junk, and I didn't think y'all would want that…

Wow. I assume you all liked the last chapter, considering that I got over fifty reviews (breaking the 700 review mark! I couldn't believe my eyes!) for a chapter that was hot off the press (it was still fun to write though, unlike this one)… Thank you all for your very nice reviews.

Yay for the long drabble. This story needs a little humor; there hasn't been much lately… You could seriously imagine this happening, though. To forestall any complaints on lack of action to avoid the stab: pushing Izuru out of the way and then dodging wouldn't be fast enough to avoid the clumsy blade (doing so at shunpo speeds would probably send Izuru through the floor), and sidestepping would result in Izuru toppling forward and getting stabbed in the face. Ichi grabbing Izuru and jumping out of the way puts all three parties at risk (beginners (Izuru & Kaede) with blades tend to flail a lot – not ideal in this situation with three seconds of reaction time) and doing so with shunpo speed blows Ichigo's cover as simply prodigious Academy freshman sky-high… Anyways, not a lot of options, so Ichi just goes with the stab. He's had worse.

-HM