He had never seen Hisagi so upset before. At least not to the point of him crying as hard as he was. Naturally, Ukitake closed the office door quietly behind him as he stepped forth and moved toward the lieutenant, steel eyes softened with worry and concern for the underling.
“Hisagi-kun,” he pipped up at last, stepping close enough to finally rest a hand on his shoulder, “what’s going on with you? You haven’t been yourself lately at all.”
Shuuhei jerked at the sudden presence of reiatsu in his office, at the gentle hand on his shoulder. He’d tried to be quiet-- tried to be discreet when he’d keeled over in his chair and curled in on himself and finally broken down and sobbed. He uselessly wiped at his cheeks even as hot tears continued to stream from his eyes, his breath coming in great, heaving gasps. He kept his back turned to Ukitake. Of course a Captain would be here to witness a moment of so much weakness. Of course. Embarrassment flooded through him.
He ignored the kind questions, the concern. “Just-- p-please go away.” He sobbed, a hand covering his eyes to hide his shame even as he continued to cry. He gritted his teeth and took in a few deep, shuddering breaths in an attempt to get his voice (and emotions) under control.
