All of these sentiments were thoughts with which Ukitake would heartily agree, had he been privy to them. He was by nature a man who wish to help others, but he had also just come from a war, one that had seen him and many of those he cared for badly wounded, and one that had almost led to the destruction of everything the Gotei-13 had defended for thousands of years. None of them would have survived had they not come together in spite of their differences and the many hurts that lay between them in the past.
Ukitake felt the hand on his shoulder, but his concentration remained for a moment on simply drawing in his next breath. A cough burned in his throat, but he forced it down and managed to inhale enough air to speak.
"Yes," he said, his voice rough and weak. "Van Tassel-san?" He did not look up or drop his sleeve from his mouth. There was a warm wetness against his lips, one that seeped into the white fabric but had not yet stained it all the way through. Katrina would see the blood if he lowered his hand or raised his face to her. Ukitake would prefer not to expose her to that just yet, if at all.