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It wasn’t hard to tell, at first glance, that Jūshirō Ukitake had quite an emaciated appearance. His chronic illness was common knowledge, and most attributed his slight figure to his illness. At the Academy, however, Shunsui and Jūshirō had been about the same size, at least, they had been in their first year. As the years had progressed they’d both gained significant muscle mass but remained lean, as was the case with most Shinigami. However, even before they’d left the Academy Shunsui had noticed that Jūshirō was underweight for his height and age.
It wasn’t that he didn’t eat – Jūshirō had quite the appetite and the sweet tooth; he just never seemed to gain weight. He’d been told by multiple doctors that his lack of weight gain was due to the increased energy needed for metabolism that his body required to atone for the disease progression in his body. As a result, even though they were both equal in strength, Shunsui was noticeably larger than his best friend.
From his outward appearance, it was hard to tell how thin Jushiro was. His shihakushō and captain’s haori hid the true state of his body, and only those who spent a lot of time around him could tell when there were subtle changes in his appearance. It was especially bad after a sever bout of his illness, and it wasn’t uncommon for Jūshirō to loose 10 lbs in under a week in the Fourth. Which Shunsui couldn’t really blame Jūshirō for; the amount of pain that Jushiro tended to be in, mixed with the fading between consciousness and unconsciousness was not conducive to eating. That didn’t make it any less painful for Shunsui when he’d wrap an arm around Jushiro to support him and be able to feel his ribs beneath his clothing.
Despite everything, Shunsui would never say that Jūshirō was weak by any means. His body seemed to have adapted to a different normal of functioning, and if he didn’t have any flare-up of his illness, Jūshirō could be an incredibly destructive force.
Jūshirō also never seemed perturbed by his physical appearance. Shunsui had – on multiple occasions – casually mentioned his concerns over Jūshirō’s physical state; on every occasions Jūshirō’s had seemed amused and had brushed away any comments.
“Appearances can be deceiving,” Jūshirō would say with a laugh, before going back to what he’d been doing.
Although Jūshirō wasn’t a physically imposing captain, he’d gained the respect of virtually the entire Gotei 13. It was a difficult task to find someone who had anything negative to say about him – he’d become renowned for his generosity, kindness, and wisdom.
Even though Jūshirō himself never seemed too concerned about his weight, Shunsui still found himself ordering extra for his friend whenever he could. Apart from Unohana, Shunsui was one of the only people who ever saw Jūshirō at his worst, and his illness was an undeniable aspect of life, so Shunsui always tried to make sure Jūshirō was at his healthiest and had enough energy to combat an attack. Particularly in the winter, when the cold affected everyone’s immune systems and Jūshirō was at his worst.
“This is a lot of food,” Jūshirō said one night as they shared dinner at Ugendō.
Shunsui made a noncommittal sound, “It’s not that much.”
Jūshirō arched an eyebrow, “We never eat this much food. This is at least two meal’s worth of food.”
“I’m sure we can finish it.”
Jūshirō laughed in a hard burst, “Not likely. Unless you plan on either throwing up, or passing out.”
“You should eat more,” Shunsui murmured.
Jūshirō gave Shunsui and appraising look before setting his utensils down and folding his arms on top of the table, waiting expectantly.
Shunsui sighed and gave his friend a level stare. “You haven’t put all the weight you lost in the Fourth back on yet. I’m just trying to…speed the process along.”
Jūshirō’s gaze softened, and he smiled softly. “You sound just like captain Unohana. I’m trying Shunsui, but it’s not easy. Besides it’s more quality than it is quantity. You couldn’t even eat all this food in one sitting.”
Shunsui’s expression depicted exactly how he felt about the news, but he said nothing. Jushiro knew it was hard on those around him – particularly Shunsui – to have to watch him suffer through the varying aspects of his illness, and he tried his best to ease that pain. It was hard; Shunsui could read him like a book, which was both a blessing and a curse. He did try to get enough sleep and keep his weight up, but when he wasn’t feeling well he rarely had the energy to do anything. He tried not to let it dampen his spirit though, keeping positive strengthened both himself and those around him. He was grateful for all the effort and help Shunsui put into him. It was hard to imagine he would have survived this long without his best friend carrying him (sometimes literally) through some of the worst bouts of his illness.
“Fair enough,” Shunsui conceded. “But I did pick up some ohagi for the both of us, but I understand if you’re too full…”
Jūshirō threw his head back and laughed, Shunsui knew him too well.
“There’s no such thing as ‘too full’ for ohagi Kyōraku, you know that.”
Jūshirō relished the playful grin on Shunsui’s face as his friend went to go and get the sweets. He couldn’t always fulfill Shunsui’s want for him to eat and put on weight, but if anyone had a good chance of fattening Jūshirō up, it was his best friend.