Sorry about the formatting...it wouldn't let me put an extra line between each section, and it was too difficult to read without it.

'You know how I fight. I fight alone, one on one, and I don't get involved in other people's fights. If they cant handle it its their own problem, not mine.'

It was only a glancing blow, but it sent Yumichika spinning away into the branches of a nearby tree, the sound of splintering wood accompanying his passage. From his vantage point Ikkaku could see the other's form, sprawled amongst the branches at the centre of the tree, and he could also see the hollow advancing with an arrogant swagger, if that was possible of an eight legged monster. He could only watch for a minute though, as his attention was drawn once again by his own opponent, a hulking wolf-like Hollow, who decided to seize the moment and make a leap for him. Besides, Yumichika could look after himself.

When he could look again the Hollow was almost upon Yumichika, who hadn't moved. Sensing something was wrong he moved closer, ignoring the fighting around him and looked harder; it was unlike Yumichika to let his guard down, and he had had more than enough time to get over any shock from the blow or the impact. A hiss escaped his lips when he finally saw the problem. Yumichika's clothes had become hopelessly entangled in the smaller branches of the tree, trapping him in place. Stupid. Stupid.

All the Hollow knew was the silken swish of a blade and the hiss of air which accompanied before it fell into a thousand pieces, released from its suffering by Ikkaku's blade. Yumichika wasn't so lucky.

"Stupid." Ikkaku scowled over Yumichika, who was still lying awkwardly across the branches. "How many times have I told you not to wear that stuff?"

Yumichika looked at Ikkaku mildly, seemingly unaffected by his predicament. "It is rather uncomfortable here you know, Ikkaku..."

"Don't change the subject! One of these days its going to get you killed."

Yumichika just smiled sadly. "I guess I just don't know what's good for me do I?

xxxx

'Never abandon your fellow Shinigami, especially not if you are in a position of responsibility over them. It is your job to lead them, not be lead by your emotions or other fleeting needs.'

"Hold up" Ikkaku called out the the rest of the squad, stopping their trudge through the rocky terrain once again. He could hear grumbling, but he ignored it as he looked behind himself again at Yumichika, who was struggling to keep up. He had been steadily falling behind the rest of them for some time now, and Ikkaku was having to stop the procession more and more often to allow the Fifth Seat to catch his breath so that they could continue.

Yumichika grimaced gratefully at him as he leant against a rock, trying to control his breathing, which was coming in short gasps. Now that the man was closer Ikkaku could see that his face was pale and drawn, and his skin looked clammy. "You alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I just need to catch my breath. You go on and I'll catch you up."

Ikkaku looked dubious; Yumichika was never out of breath or flustered, he always made a point of setting a punishing pace for travel, laughing at the larger and physically stronger of the group who would invariably have to ask him for a break, so it was worrying he was unable to keep up with such a gentle pace. It was obviously, however, an issue that Yumichika was not going to reveal in front of the others.

"You lot go on back without us, We'll catch you up on the way." He told the rest of the group, who were watching him restlessly, after a moments thought. "And don't do anything stupid..." He added afterwards, remembering his fellow squad-mates' penchant for getting into fights.

As they trudged away Ikkaku turned back to Yumichika, eyeing him carefully. "Ok, spill. What's wrong?"

The smaller man hesitated for a moment, as if weighing up whether or not to admit his weakness, and seemed to come to a decision, silently unfolding his arms and lifting one, revealing a blood soaked tear in his kimono. Ikkaku was momentarily confused, such a minor wound wouldn't normally floor any self respecting Shinigami, let alone a seated officer, but when he pulled open Yumichika's kimono for a closer look his questions were answered.

The wound itself was fairly minor, as he has assessed, but more worrying was the green tinge to the skin around it, and the red lines of inflamed veins spreading across his stomach and up to his chest. "Poison..." He hated Hollow like that, the more evolved ones which tried to use dirty tricks to get the upper hand rather than just fighting properly. Fortunately it seemed to be quite slow spreading, but then in his experience that just mean it was all the more potent.

"Come on," He grunted, slinging one of Yumichika's arms across his shoulders to help him walk. "We better get you back home quick."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologise." Yumichika's hair tickled his cheek and he huffed it away. "Jus' concentrate on moving."

It didn't look like he would catch the rest of the group up after all.

xxxx

'Hey, Ikkaku. If I ever become a...liability...to you, you'll leave me, right? You'll carry on without me?''

Some time in the past few miles Yumichika had developed a fever and they were forced to go move steadily slower as Ikkaku was having to support him more and more; the rocky terrain didn't help much either, with its slanted ground and shifting pebbles. The odd Shunpo allowed them to cover the occasional large chunk of ground, but Yumichika was a dead weight and it was difficult to go any distance, especially as Ikkaku didn't want to risk dropping him half way through.

"Ikkaku..."

Ikkaku looked sideways at his friend, whose head was bowed as he stumbled along, waiting for him to continue. He never got a chance, however, as his foot caught on a protruding piece of rock and he fell, pulling Ikkaku down with him.

Ikkaku did his best not to fall on the other man, but he still caught him a glancing blow on the side and he could hear the hiss of air as Yumichika strangled a cry in his throat. Swearing, he pulled himself up, ignoring the pains where he had fallen on hard stone and looked at the other man, who was lying still on the ground, chest heaving with the shock of the fall and the exertions of the past few hours. It was almost pitiful the state the two of them were in.

xxxx

'I don't have many rules, fight, don't get in my way...but there is one thing that I will not tolerate, and that is Kidou, so anyone here that likes to use it had better get used to the idea or leave. You win a battle through willpower and strength, not through tricks and magic. That goes for healing Kidou too.''

Ikkaku had tried to get Yumichika to drink, if only to cool him down; his fever was almost unbelievable, and Ikkaku was almost certain that the only reason the Fifth Seat was still mostly lucid was sheer stubbornness. His efforts hadn't been very successful though; most of it the feverish man had coughed back up, and Ikkaku had been forced to stop for fear of choking him.

What was even more worrying was that when Ikkaku had another look at the wound the poison looked to have spread quite substantially, the exertion of walking so far having carried the venom faster around Yumichika's body than normal.

Ikkaku suddenly found he was, for perhaps the first tangible time in his life, afraid. Afraid to have come so far - they were no more than ten miles from Seireitei - and to still lose Yumichika. To have pushed the man so hard, only to have hastened his death. So he did the unthinkable. He moved forward and pulled in his Reiatsu as best he could, focusing it at his hand, watching as a pale green glow encompassed it.

It felt odd to have all his energy balled up into a palm rather than coursing down his sword, and Ikkaku cursed as the already pale light flickered uncertainly and his tongue stumbled over the half remembered incantations. Kidou was never something he had had a particular aptitude for in the first place, Yumichika had always been far better at it, although he kept to the squad rules and never used it, and his lack of skill was never more evident than as he crouched over his ailing friend. This sort of healing magic was basic, the sort of thing every new Shinigami learnt in case they were ever wounded and unable to get help, and here he was, a Third Seat in the most powerful fighting squad of the Gotei Thirteen, a man who had already achieved Bankai, and he was struggling to keep the spell up. It was shameful.

It did, however, seem to be having an effect, and soon Yumichika stirred, his eyes opening slightly as the redness which had spread across his chest faded slightly. "Ikkaku?" Yumichika's eyes moved towards Ikkaku's hands and they widened slightly. "What...?"

"Stay down" Ikkaku pushed the other back roughly, halting his attempts to sit up. Perhaps a little too roughly as the man paled and hissed in pain. "This is difficult enough without you wriggling around." He glared at Yumichika, who had stopped struggling and was watching him silently. "an' if you tell anyone about this, you're a dead man, ya hear me?"

Yumichika merely smiled and closed his eyes, his head falling back to rest on the hard stone.

xxxx

'No Shinigami below the rank of Vice-Captain is to use a Hell Butterfly unless it is to warn of an imminent attack, inform about the whereabouts of an enemy, travel to the real world or if given express permission by their Captain.''

It almost escaped from him when he pulled it from his pack, spreading its wings deceptively fast and fluttering into the air away from his groping hands. It put him in mind of that unfortunate kid in Renji's squad who was always chasing them around because he'd let them go. Fortunately he was able to catch his one, although he bent its wing a bit in the process, and he hurriedly whispered his message, releasing it to fly towards Seireitei.

The little Kidou he had been able to manage had helped, slowing the poison and reducing the fever, but there was no way he would be able to keep the healing up; just a few minutes had tired him more than a days sparring. What Yumichika needed was the treatment of the Fourth Squad, and the sooner the better. He might get it in the ear later, Hell Butterflies were expensive, but if they were prepared for him, it was all good.

"Come on," He crouched down beside Yumichika, "time to get moving." With a grunt he pulled the smaller man onto his back, shifting him until he was comfortable. When he felt hands gripping his shoulders he moved on, careful not to dislodge his passenger.

In the last part of his journey he abandoned Yumichika's comfort in favour of speed, feeling the man's grip weakening and hearing his breathing become more ragged, and soon they were within the walls of Seireitei. Unohana herself was waiting for him just outside the Fourth Squad barracks, and she smiled kindly at him as he stopped and allowed Yumichika to be hustled away by medics. "I got your Butterfly." She told him.

"Ah, good..." He rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably; the Captain always made him uneasy, and never more so than now, where it seemed like those kindly eyes of hers could see right through him. "Will he be alright?"

"Yes. I would imagine so." She paused, "He has a strong spirit...and a loyal friend. Now if you would excuse me..."

Ikkaku was more than happy to excuse her, glad to escape from the woman's unwavering gaze and confident that Yumichika was in capable hands. Now however, he had the rather more difficult task of explaining everything to Kenpachi. The rest of his group should have returned a good while ago, provided they hadn't got lost, and no doubt his captain was waiting, and he was not a man known for his patience.

Finding Kenpachi was easy enough, he just followed the screams of the greenhorns to the courtyard, where the Captain was warming up by thrashing recruits in the absence of his two higher ranked officers. When he set foot in the courtyard an abrupt silence fell as Kenpachi turned to stare at him and everyone else watched with a mixture of anxiety and cautious anticipation. "Where is he?" The large man asked after a few moments of silence.

Ikkaku matched the Captain's stare. "Fourth squad."

Kenpachi nodded, and Ikkaku could almost catch a hint of approval in his eye. "Don't do it again." He warned.

"Yes sir."

As Kenpachi wandered away Ikkaku wondered whether he knew he was lying. Rules and values were all very well, but Ikkaku had long ago realised that there were just some people for whom you would break all the rules.

I really enjoyed writing this one, so I'd love to hear what people think.