I Worry About You [Ukitake]

[Shunsui Kyoraku]

It wasn't every day that Shunsui found himself dropping by to make sure Ukitake was ok. Sure, he stopped in unannounced on and off, but that was quite different. He wasn't usually worried then, he just wanted to see his friend. This time, it was different. With everything that had happened, he just got the feeling Ukitake would need him around. Especially if he was feeling down.

Shunsui knew exactly where he was headed, a place he'd been many times before, of course usually these times he was already in Ukitake's company. He knew the way, however, and carefully guided himself there. He put a hand to the door, hesitantly, before drawing back and thinking.

Things had been so chaotic lately, he wondered if it was even smart to just intrude. Of course, the though hardly bothered him. Ukitake was always happy to see him, and he was sure if he was upset, he'd need someone there for him. It was the least he could do, afterall, what were friend's for?

He knocked quitely, if only to announce he was there, before sliding open the door and saying warmly "Juushirou, I've let myself in, I hope you don't mind." He knew his friend likely wouldn't, he never did. All the same, he hovered in the entrance, waiting for a sign that Ukitake was actually around. He didn't want to be a bother by falling asleep in his friend's house or something.

It would be the sort of thing he'd be scolded for, even if he knew Ukitake wouldn't mind him being there. He would just rather wait to be sure he wasn't intruding on anything important. That way he didn't get in trouble.

[Jushiro Ukitake]

It.... had been a long night to say the least.... Oh had he been thinking a day prior he'd have been finding Toshiro in such a state as that he'd have probably laughed and said it was a rather cruel trick. Especially considering the details of how squad thirteen's lieutenant had been lost. Of course the details were different, and things were not likely to pan out the same way... However none the less it was not a good place to be. So all being said there was no surprise to find he was worried about the boy, more so than he had been when he'd spontaneously vanished. On a positive though at least he knew he was alive, he knew the boy was still strong, and he knew he was nothing like close to giving up on things. That right now was enough, enough to have let the boy just leave a few hours ago. To let him wander around the soul society in his condition to try and fix whatever he'd spoken of. Perhaps though it was all simply a matter of honour, and honour that needed to be rectified and sustained. That was something Ukitake could not interfere with.

Rising himself from the desk he'd been seated at for the night he yawned, not sleeping was a real drag, probably not a good thing. However despite it all he was a captain, and frankly a few hours missed sleep would do very little to him in the long term. With a roll of his shoulders, an action with every intent of freeing up the muscles that had tightened over night he gave a soft grunt of satisfaction before striding into the kitchen and setting some tea going. Blinking as he reached for a tug a vague smile tugged at his face before he took two instead of the one. It was strange for the fellow captain to be visiting so early, usually he wouldn't have been up so early. Now that meant one of three things. One Shunsui had been drinking all night and was now drunk enough to have no concept of time, two he'd pissed Nanao off, or three there was something bothering his shaggy haired friend. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew which. Hmmm.

As the tea finished itself up he poured it before taking both cups and striding out of the room, following the spiritual pressure that had oh so rudely invaded his home~ He didn't mind, really he didn't. It was something that seemed to happen on a stupidly regular basis. The man just tended to waltz in if he owned the place, and then pull Jushiro into whatever marvellous misadventure he had planned for the day. It was a good laugh really... But with this came the sudden realisation that he was going to have to betray someone. Telling Shunsui about Toshiro... What right did he have? None, it was not his tale to tell. Yet the the same time the idea of keeping something like that was just... Terrible to him. What a dilema he'd found himself in. Eitherway he was going to let someone down... And already he knew which it would be.

"Juushirou, I've let myself in, I hope you don't mind."

As the door to the adjoining room slid open he cocked a brow, a smile pulling out on his face. "You know you're always welcome~" He was, that was a constant that would never change. To that he offered the tea out, before taking a sip of his own, only to lower the cup a moment later. "You seem worried old friend, what's bothering you?" It was true, the captain did seem more uptight than usual, far less jovial than was traditional. It was a near worrying thought, and yet knowing the man he had a feeling he knew. Oh he knew. Dammit, what was he going to do. Taking another sip of his tea he knew full well that wasn't the answer, but it was a start.

[Shunsui Kyoraku]

Upon seeing Ukitake appear, he stepped fully inside and slipped the door closed behind him.

"You know you're always welcome~"

Shunsui smiled in response, cheerfully taking the cup Ukitake offered him. Tea was a good change from sake every day all the time, and as Ukitake spoke, he took a small sip. "You seem worried old friend, what's bothering you?" Shunsui let out a small sigh.

"I'm worried about you, Jushiro. With everything that's been going on lately, I just wanted to make sure you were handling the stress alright." It sounded quite corny when he said all of it, but his worry was genuine. Hitsugaya was missing, and he knew that Ukitake cared for him as if he was a child. In ways, Shunsui supposed the young Captain still was. There were other ways that made him far more of a man than some of the other Captains, and even Shunsui found him missing his presence.

"So I've said what's on my mind, now it's your turn." Shunsui could tell Ukitake was thinking about something. "And don't try to tell me nothing, because I know something's up." He gave Ukitake a serious sort of look, but it still managed to be light-hearted in some ways. He supposed it was just his own way of telling him he meant what he said, but it was because he cared. Slowly he took another, longer, sip of the tea, waiting for Ukitake's answer.

[Jushiro Ukitake]

"I'm worried about you, Jushiro. With everything that's been going on lately, I just wanted to make sure you were handling the stress alright."

With a blink he seated himself and listened, gesturing for Shunsui to follow suit and do the same opposite him. The words didn't shock him, he'd expected a vast majority of that. And yet still it didn't exactly make it any easier to deal with the fact he was hurting his best friend. That truly was the last thing he'd wanted, yet he'd known somewhere in the back of his mind right from the start that he was probably going to do it anyway. The thing was, he didn't mean to, he truly did not, he'd never wish any form of harm on Shunsui, nor on anyone for that matter. Yet the thing was it was all he could do. He could not just up and tell the pink garbed man what was worrying him, as much as he really did want to he just couldn't. Doing so would be wrong on so many levels. Looking down at his tea, almost scrutinising the liquid within he tried so very hard to find a way to apes this situation without failing someone with what he did or said. His best bet would be to lie of course, but he refuse to do that, and so all he could do was avoid the matter as best he could. With someone who knew you was well as Shunsui knew Ukitake that was perhaps easier said than done.

"So I've said what's on my mind, now it's your turn. And don't try to tell me nothing, because I know something's up."

And there was the dreaded line that he'd known was coming from the very start, through all of this he'd just been waiting for that to come, wondering how exactly he was going to be able to back out of it without actually backing out of it. He knew so very well that his old friend wasn't going to just let him back out unless either it was clear Ukitake really could not answer, or until he got what he wanted. Perhaps it would be best to find a middle ground within all of this then? Yes, perhaps, perhaps in the end that would be best for all when everything had run its course. He didn't necessarily have to tell the man what exactly was wrong, he could simply elude to it. If he did that then there would be no betrayal to any party, no one would be harmed, and it would thus allow for things to continue as they were now set to.

"I met someone today," he relented at last. "Someone I hadn't expected to meet in all honesty, it was good to see them, and yet the circumstances were worrisome to say the least." It wouldn't be clear who he was talking about, he knew a great many people, many that the man before him knew, and yet also many that he did not. "I tried to help of course, but in the end there wasn't anything I could do for them besides let them follow their heart." He'd done the right thing, he knew he had. Yet a part of it felt bitter-sweet, it was a feeling he'd felt before yet only on a larger scale. "I'm just worried for them, them, Toshiro... And also Rukia..." She was missing too. In the end all of these people close to him going missing for whatever reason was just... Oh what was it? He didn't know. He was just an old man worrying about the younger people around him. It was almost father like.. And that was perhaps why he strove so hard to keep them all safe.

[Shunsui Kyoraku]

Shunsui was happy to sit down, listening calmly to Ukitake, drinking a little more of his tea as he did so. "I met someone today, someone I hadn't expected to meet in all honesty, it was good to see them, and yet the circumstances were worrisome to say the least. I tried to help of course, but in the end there wasn't anything I could do for them besides let them follow their heart." Shunsui would have inquired as to who it was, but a part of him knew that it was Ukitake's buisness, and nothing he should stick his nose into. Curiosity afterall, killed the cat, and it didn't matter how handsome that cat was.

"I'm just worried for them, them, Toshiro... And also Rukia..."

Shunsui hesitated, having almost forgotten that Rukia too was missing. How easy it was to forget about an ordinary person going missing when a Captain vanished. It was a shame he had fallen to the plague that was placing others in greater importance than anyone else. Sure, a Captain was more of a loss to them, but it would hurt Ukitake all the same if two people he seemed to care deeply for never returned. The loss of Kaien had hit him hard enough.

"I wouldn't worry to hard about them, hope does better than worry. I'm sure whatever's happened, they'll pull through. They're both quite smart, and they know how to take care of themselves." Afterall, Hitsugaya was a Captain for a reason, and given the family that had raised Rukia, she was bound to be able to hold her own.

[Jushiro Ukitake]

"I wouldn't worry to hard about them, hope does better than worry. I'm sure whatever's happened, they'll pull through. They're both quite smart, and they know how to take care of themselves."

He knew what he was saying, yet he couldn't agree, he just couldn't. He knew so well that he was just been some old fool, and yet he couldn't help it. Shunsui hadn't seen Toshiro, he hadn't seen the hollow he'd become, felt those teeth dig hard into his arm... He hadn't had to see his pain once the mask had been removed, the horror at what he'd done. He'd not had to smile when it was the last thing he wanted to do. Ukitake didn't blame the man, he wasn't anything close to angry, yet Shunsui didn't understand that, and for now he couldn't. Until Toshiro deemed it right to come back he couldn't say he'd seen the boy, he couldn't speak of knowing that the boy was currently trying to fix something. Oh how he wanted to, how he wanted to so badly. He was the type that knew so well that a shared burden is a lesser one. He'd seen what happened when people refused to share their problems. Rukia was a grand example, he knew what he was doing was wrong. Yet he couldn't speak of it, and not even because he didn't wish to.

Giving a mildly he rubbed the back of his head, not wincing as the bandages under his sleeves brushed at his torn arm. "I know, I really do." He did, but that made it no better. Both Rukia and Hitsugaya were strong, but no once was invincible, eventually walls always broke, in cases like this anyway. They both needed him, as both a friend and a captain. Yet right now he couldn't be there, he couldn't be there for the people who perhaps needed him the most. Hand dropping back to his lap he took a sip of his tea, thinking on, looking for a way to divert the conversation. Shunsui was here, and by hell there was no way he was going to sit and try to explain what he couldn't actually explain at present. No, it was best to make the most of it, he'd missed seeing the man for a while, they'd seen little of each other due to everything. In honesty it was about time they caught up, and besides, there was really no doubt that a change of topic would lighten his mood.

Thinking he looked on at his friend's tea before cocking a brow with a chuckle. "I'm surprise you settled for just tea, old friend~" No sake? Really? Times had never been so good~! Ah, he perhaps wasn't so surprised. Whilst his friend was a drinker, perhaps even boarder line alcoholic, it was perhaps a little to early for him... Give him another hour or so though and he'd probably well on his way. "It's been a while since we've been out together." Looking at the roof he tapped his chin slightly with a finger, evidently thinking of something. "To long~ We should do something later~?" With a chuckle he finished off his tea. He wasn't suggesting getting wasted, not for himself anyways, Shunsui would probably take it on himself to get drunk for Ukitake. Perhaps a drink later wouldn't be a bad thing, not at all. After his night prior it would be a nice change.

[Shunsui Kyoraku]

"I know, I really do."

There was something almost...unsure in his friend's voice. It was almost as if he wasn't fully convinced of this fact. The underlying tones of worry in turn, worried him. Anything that made Ukitake upset, would most certainly put him in the same mood. He slowly drank some more of the tea, eyes following Ukitake's gaze slightly.

"I'm surprise you settled for just tea, old friend~"

He smirked, a chuckle escaping his lips as he moved the cup away. "Too early for sake. Besides, Nanao would think to look in the usual places first, I figured I'd change up the routine a little." He was sure there was work he had probably forgotten, but he was also sure he had a good reason for putting it off. He just couldn't remember it right now. "It's been a while since we've been out together."

Shunsui smirked "You got that right, seems to be a lot more work than usual, no time to do anything fun. How long has it been now since we had time to ourselves?" He was sure it had been at least two days now since he'd so much as thought of sake. Nanao had hounded him into doing work, and had vigilantly watched him dawn to dusk just to make sure he stayed doing work. Even after all of that, there was still more work to be done. There was always more work to be done. "To long~ We should do something later~?"

Shunsui smiled at the idea. "We most certainly should...but what though?" He frowned slightly, but it was a playful frown. He thought for a little bit, before he finally spoke again "Bah! It's too early for me to be thinking, you're better at deciding things than I am." Unless the decision involved sake or pretty women. Then he was very good at deciding what he would do. Of course, neither of those two things seemed to be involving themselves in his day very quickly, so where to go and what to do was better left to Ukitake. He was by far the wiser of the two, or at least Shunsui thought so.