A Fine Afternoon [Ukitake]

[Shunsui Kyoraku]

After working for hours on end with Nanao's constant supervision, it felt good to be outside and to smell the fresh air. Kyoraku had been working since he woke up(he didn't even have enough time to drink his tea to help wake himself up more), at around 5am. He wasn't tired, not like he should be but a nap at that time did seem to be a bad idea. But Kyoraku had other things planned. Despite his love of naps, he was dead-set on visiting his long-time friend, Ukitake. He hadn't seen the sickly white-haired man for a while now, and was starting to wonder how he was. Though there had been a Captain's Meeting recently, and he had the chance to talk to him, Nanao had dragged poor old Kyoraku back into the office before Kyoraku could ever wave good-bye to Ukitake. So now, he was going to go check up on Ukitake, and for a change, he was going to also visit his friend's family. Kyoraku enjoyed watching Ukitake's younger siblings run around and play. It made him remember when he and Ukitake were in their academy days.

There was a slight bounce in Kyoraku's step, and the flower embroidered man hummed with no particular tune as he neared The Ugendo Estate. He smiled and took his hands out of his sleeves before stepping up right before the door. He knocked and took a step back and waited for the dooor to open.

[OoC: Short, but it's just to get this started up XP]

[Jushiro Ukitake]

With the briefest of sighs the white-haired man leaned on the wooden railing overlooking the large pond, it was good to relax, if only for a while. Taking the cup of tea to his side he took a small sip before looking down at the water once more. It was safe to say it wasn't simply the water that had his attention, rather, what was in it. Within the pond it was a well known fact that there were koi, and it was these the captain's attention was actually on. This was all namely for the fact that for some reason his fish seemed to be putting on a random growth spurt, perhaps it was the new feed he had them on? Whatever the reason it left a form of satisfaction in the kind man, they really were most beautiful to look at when the world was simply being allowed to pass you by in one of your moments of rest. It may have just be Jushiro, or it may have also been the general population, but he found there to be a certain form of relaxation to watching them swim just below the surface. The way their finally crafted bodies just cut so easily through the water, yes, they really did give rest to a weary.

Yawning slightly the captain turned his attention away from the fish, turning and walking back through the house tea in hand. He really did have a few other things to attend today, for once he'd found himself with a rather large amount of free time on an occasion that he was fit and well enough to do as he chose. His main issue was this whole 'ghost' message that had been reported to him, it was troubling, and after putting his head together with a couple of other captains, including Kurotsuchi, they'd come to the solution their was going to be an attack in the human town of Tsuzoku. This was most worrying in his eyes, it was something that had to be investigated, and of course soon. The worrying thing about it all was that there had been no set date given, only the location, how long did they have? Not long enough, this would have to be investigated soon. He'd make up a small investigation squad, one containing no more than three members, two of which would come from his own squad.

Rubbing his neck with his free hand he continue down the hall, perhaps it would be wise to send Rukia... No doubt it would be of benefit to the somewhat lonely young girl, not that it would amend all that was wrong with the poor girl, nothing could alleviate her burden. The teamwork may be good for her though, it was now simply a matter of deciding upon her partner on this. Of course there were many he could pick, but right now one stood out to him the most, Leiko. She was rather new within his squad, and from what he knew of the young girl she was having one or two issues with her Shikai, but regardless of this he was near sure that she'd be fine when dealing with this.... Still, it would most certainly be worth sending a ranked officer with them, yes, for this he'd put out a request to the other squads asking for someone to go with them. At present he really did feel a lieutenant would be best, for the moment he was unsure as the situation, thus someone of power could be needed. He'd have sent his own lieutenant were it possible... But sadly it was not.

He'd request the pair for the mission later, perhaps in a few hours, but for now he had a bonsai tree that he'd been meaning to clip for the past week. Whilst this matter was of great importance throwing himself and the others into a state of panic was of no good, he'd take his time to work things through, and then when he was sure he'd gotten everything he could from what little information he had he'd put matters into effect. Reaching the garden and pulling out all that he needed he, his mind once more falling back to the topic as he began to somewhat mercilessly clip the small tree with a content grin on his face. The main thing the intelligent captain wanted to know was who had created the message, and also what their purpose for doing such was. A part of him yelled trap, people didn't warn you of what they were doing unless they had something to gain from it.. He was loathed to really put anyone into this potentially deadly situtation, but there was little choice.... What he did have a choice in though was the lieutenant he sent, or at least the one he requested be sent.

Now who did he have, there was of course Chōjirō Sasakibe, though sending the commander's lieutenant probably wasn't smart. Then there was Marechiyo Ōmaeda, he didn't seem like a wise choice reall. There was also Izuru Kira, again he simply didn't seem suitable.. Now Isane Kotetsu could have been a posibility, but this wasn't really her type of thing. Momo Hinamori really hit the same problem as Isane, she was rather good at what she did, but this wasn't her forte. Now Renji Abarai on the other hand, he was a very good candidate, the main problem was his captain, and also the fact Ukitake knew full well the man was somewhat of a ghost when it came to free time, he seemed to vanish a fair deal... He'd have to be a last resort. Tetsuzaemon Iba and Nanao Ise weren't overly considered, they were both strong, but neither were overly what he was looking for. Shūhei Hisagi, as with Renji this man was a good choice, of course he did have a fair deal of work, but Ukitake was sure he could perhaps do something to alleviate that if he tried.... No, when it came down to it this man was the best choice, he'd send a request to Shuhei and his captain shortly.

Jinking somewhat as he heard a sharp knock from down the house the captain found it somewhat disheartening when he managed to clip off one of the branches, and on a plant this small one branch was a hell of a lot. “Ahh... Oops,” he laughed out slightly before rubbing his neck, putting everything down. He hadn't really expected anyone to come calling today, but then, he was a captain and thus there would be many who needed either him or his advice. He should have expected it no doubt. Giving a small grin he started off back through the house, every intention of answering it before a another answered it. It wasn't that he spited them, most the opposite, rather he was simply in the mood for company right now, someone do discuss this whole problem that had been discovered would be good, but either way Ukitake would be more than content with a member of his squad coming to inform him of some issue like a flood in one of the bathrooms. Of course it was hardly exciting, but the mere contact with another being was heart warming for Ukitake, if he had to deal with one or two little problems like that then it was utterly worth it and frankly he was more than happy to help anyway.

As he opened the door though it seemed he'd got his former desire. “Shunsui!” He exclaimed happily, the smile that always seemed to be on his face widening into a full blown grin. If there was one person Ukitake was always happy to see it was this man, of course he was rarely disheartened to see any, but this man had been an incredibly good friend for such a very long time. He was a face Ukitake always looked forward to seeing no matter the situation of things around him. “It's good to see you old friend,” he stated with a slight chuckle. Stepping back slightly he opened the door further, it really was impolite to leave anyone stood outside for to long. “Come in!” Through the whole thing there was very clearly a form of joy at being able to see this man again, of late they certainly hadn't spent enough time together, to be honest this bothered the captain somewhat. Still, with all these weird reports Ukitake and his squad were being forced to sift through he really didn't have enough time to simply cut back and relax. That and Ukitake really didn't doubt that dear Nanao had been keeping ol' Shinsui on a rather tight leash, poor fellow~

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[Shunsui Kyoraku]

Shunsui only had to wait a few minutes before someone answered the door. The first thing he noticed was long white hair. He knew in an instant that it was Jushirou. When the door was completely open, Ukitake's smile turned into a huge grin as he realized who had come to visit.
"Shunsui! It's good to see you, old friend,"
"It's good to see you too, Jushirou!" came Shunsui's reply, his tone clearly showing that he was glad.

"Come in!" Ukitake spoke again happily. Shunsui nodded and stepped into the house. He then proceeded to take off his sandals, remembering that it was proper manners to do so, especially in another's house. As he took them off, Shunsui spoke again, " I hope I haven't come at a bad time, Jyuu,"
Once the sandals were off and placed to the side with the rest of the sandals, Shunsui straightened up, and smiled over at Ukitake. He continued,
"So how've you been? Is the good weather treating you well, Jyuu?" He asked, taking off his hat. He held the cheap straw hat in his left hand, being careful not to snap the cheap, but intricate straw weavings.

"Sorry about not visiting you sooner, Jyuu. Crazy amounts of paperwork, and I had to persuade Nanao to let me have an afternoon's break. I'm going to be doing paperwork for the whole night, hehehehe~" Shunsui chuckled, his smile getting slightly wider. "She hasn't gotten a wink of sleep for a few nights, an I've been the one who's been sleeping, so tonight, I'm letting her sleep. I promised her I'd get it all done by the morning." Shunsui chuckled again, and then said,
"What have you been up to, Jyuu? Please don't say 'nothing'. Everyone says that, and it doesn't make for good conversation, or so I think."

[Jushiro Ukitake]

"It's good to see you too, Jushirou!"

With an enthusiastic nod it was clear to see that Ukitake was infinity happy to see this man, though honestly a person such as Ukitake generally seemed pleased to see near everyone and anyone. “It's certainly been a while~” His voice was thoughtful on the subject, and yet at the same time it was incredibly calm and peaceful to everything. The comment itself was only half true, when he said 'a while' he actually only meant a few days, perhaps a week at most. The thing was though, when you were a captain bustling around trying to make sense of things and keep your squad in line a few days could seem like an infinity long time, even when your life was already centuries past what a human would come to expect. Besides, to Ukitake the time spent with friends could never be measured as easily as the usual flow of time, to do so would to implicate its importance could be measured. This was not the case, and thus the time between meetings was always far to long for the captain's liking, to see the man again like this... Yes, it brought an endless amount of joy to the old captain.

"I hope I haven't come at a bad time, Jyuu."

Cocking a brow he shook his head and chuckled. “You know no time's a bad time where you're concerned,” he stated with a grin. True enough this was no lie, Jushiro nearly always had time for his dear friend, of course lately this hadn't been the case, but right now it simply was. It always saddened Ukitake when he lost the time to spend time with those he cared for, but at the end it was for the greater good that he lost out, he'd shoulder it all and fit in time for those he cared for, that's what he would have done... And so that's what Ukitake would do with pride. It always did amused Ukitake to hear that nickname spoken though, no matter how many times he heard it it would always pull a smile to his face. He was so used to the standard 'Captain', 'sir', or 'Ukitake', there were so few willing to refer to him by his fore name, much less drop a nickname on him. The formality did bother him slightly at times, if only more people would take up Shunsui's regard to these things. Ah well, there wasn't really much he could do about it now, just smile and bear it~

"So how've you been? Is the good weather treating you well, Jyuu?"

Walking through the house back toward the garden he gave a slight nod. “Very well actually, better than I have been for a while.” Without directly saying it the message was fairly clear, his chest had been fine. Jushiro was absolutely sure he caused no end of worry to his friend due to his illness, this did indeed bother him greatly. He really never had any desire to cause his friend any form of pain, nor to fail others with his own incapability, right now though he had the welcome relief of perhaps only an occasional twinge from his lungs. It was wonderful and brought him no end of joy to know that at present he was fully capable of working through in his duties and desires. “Hmm, well it certainly agrees with me~” He stated with a slight laugh. “It's letting me get one or two things in the garden fixed up... It also seems to be doing wonders for my fish!” The enthusiasm was clear, despite being considerably older than many he still had the incredible ability to act like a happy child, and even get away with it. For some reason this disposition just seemed to fit the man, something about it clicked with him. Despite his age he made it work, and this was perhaps why he was so utterly approachable by all about anything.

"Sorry about not visiting you sooner, Jyuu. Crazy amounts of paperwork, and I had to persuade Nanao to let me have an afternoon's break. I'm going to be doing paperwork for the whole night, hehehehe~ She hasn't gotten a wink of sleep for a few nights, an I've been the one who's been sleeping, so tonight, I'm letting her sleep. I promised her I'd get it all done by the morning."

Laughing he nodded, that sounded about right to be honest. Ukitake had expected nothing less. “I know the feeling, we've had so much information coming through my squad of late... Something I'd actually like to talk you you about really.” Nodding to the rest of his friend's comment he stepped out of the house and onto a porch, shaking his head in amusement for a moment he grinned. It seemed someone had already preempted his intentions and brought out tea and cushions. Wonderful! “Haha, yes, you always did seem to have the lucky habit of being the one to sleep,” he joked, sitting down a moment later and giving a gesture to the cushion opposite him. “You'll be busy then. If you need any help you know where to find me.” It was of course a genuine offer. Despite the fact Ukitake himself did have many things to organize and complete he was still perfectly willing to lend a hand if it were possible. He did though have the very distinct feeling his friend would not accept the help though, ah well, it was still very much worth the offer though. After all, that's what friends did for one another.

"What have you been up to, Jyuu? Please don't say 'nothing'. Everyone says that, and it doesn't make for good conversation, or so I think."

Pouring some tea and offering the first cup to Shunsui he shook his head, evidently amused. “It doesn't make for a very interesting like either,” he added happily. “No, of course I've been doing things.” Taking a small sip of his own drink he cast his eyes across the garden for a moment. “Most of it though revolves around work I'm afraid though, busy busy busy~” Turning back he smiled and rubbed his neck slightly. “Mostly about a certain message that was found in the human world.” Yes, said message had been his priority since he'd received it and had it deciphered, it was a problem indeed, and he wasn't so sure Shunsui would have had the news of it yet. There was a chance he had though, Ukitake really couldn't say. “Do you know anything about it?” First he would determine what his friend knew, and then fill him in on anything he didn't know, and also Ukitake's own plans on the matter. He really didn't doubt that Shunsui's input on this would be invaluable, despite the fact the man could act like a total moron he was incredibly intelligent. Ukitake really did want his thoughts on the matter.

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[Shunsui Kyoraku]

“It's certainly been a while~” Ukitake had responded. Shunsui smiled and nodded. Ukitake then responded to Shunsui's question with,
“You know no time's a bad time where you're concerned,”
Shunsui couldn't help but chuckle at that statement. It was funny because it was true. One thing Shunsui had noticed as that no matter when he walked over to see Ukitake, his friend never complained or said anything about it being 'a bad time'. Shunsui wasn't even sure why he always asked that. He concluded that saying it was common courtesy. It was just something you do.

Ukitake then answered his other question, which snapped Shunsui of his thoughts.
“Very well actually, better than I have been for a while.”
" That's a good sign. Maybe it's clearing up a bit."

“Hmm, well it certainly agrees with me~” Said his friend with a slight laugh. Shunsui grinned at this and nodded.
“It's letting me get one or two things in the garden fixed up... It also seems to be doing wonders for my fish!”

" That's good too, Jyuu~" Shunsui answered, laughing a bit. They were both in high spirits, which was always good. After he had spoken yet gain, Ukitake laughed and nodded. Ukitake responded with,
“I know the feeling, we've had so much information coming through my squad of late... Something I'd actually like to talk you you about really.”
"Oh, is that so? " Shunsui asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Ukitake nodded and stepped out of the house and onto the porch. Shunsui followed him and noticed that cushions and tea were already set out for them. Jyuu had such a thoughtful family~
“Haha, yes, you always did seem to have the lucky habit of being the one to sleep,” Ukitake said in a joking tone. Shunsui grinned and chuckled yet again. He watched his friend sit down and gesture for him to sit down too. Shunsui nodded and sat down on the second cushion in a cross-legged position and inserted his hands into his haori sleeves.
" Ah well you know me, Jyuu~"

Ukitake then said,
"You'll be busy then. If you need any help you know where to find me.”
"Ah, don't worry, Juushirou. I'll be fine~ "
Ukitake then poured a cup of tea for him and shook his head, amused. Shunsui accepted it, nodded in thanks and smiled kindly.
“It doesn't make for a very interesting like either,” Ukitake said, “No, of course I've been doing things.” Uktake then took a sip of his drink and looked over at his garden. Shunsui also sipped a bit of his tea too. It was just the way Shunsui liked it. Shunsui followed Ukitake's gaze.
“Most of it though revolves around work I'm afraid though, busy busy busy~” Ukitake said, turning back to face Shunsui. He rubbed his neck slightly.
“Mostly about a certain message that was found in the human world.”
Shunsui nodded in understanding. He would let Ukitake speak again before talking himself. Maybe Ukitake had an idea for the reason it was all happening.
"Do you know anything about it?”
Just the question Shunsui had asked for. Thinking for a bit, Shunsui responded, his face slowly becoming less light-hearted and more concerned.

" Yes, I've heard bits and pieces about it; not much. Like how there is a large mass of hollows coming to attack a town, but I'm not sure when, or where..." He paused to think again, before speaking again, "I'm not sure why this is happening, but something seems vaguely familiar about this, but I could be wrong..."

[Jushiro Ukitake]

"That's a good sign. Maybe it's clearing up a bit."

Laughing he simply nodded. “Perhaps, we can always hope~” Really though, he knew pretty damn well this was not the case, he'd lived with his issues for many many years now. He had good spells, and then some rather... Well, not so good ones. There was no real determination as to what determined how he was, it just seemed random, though of course things like weather did have effect on this kind of thing. Ukitake though had long since learned not to let it pull him down, it was better just to take things as they came and move on with life. Oh sure, it could be rather uncomfortable, painful and inconvenient too, but had long since become a part of him and thus he'd given the illness acceptance. He didn't like it, but he couldn't change it and thus would make no effort to bother himself about it, if somehow he did find himself without it then he'd accept it and be happy. Until then he'd live his life as he had done for so long, it had worked so far, caused one or two issues... But on the whole it had worked well enough for him.

"Oh, is that so?"

“Yes, it is,” he stated with a very slight sigh. Perhaps he felt somewhat remorseful for the fact that even though this was his first meeting with his friend for a fair while it was going to have to be spent talking about work. It was necessary though, whilst he didn't overly like the idea this topic could not be avoided, and this could all no doubt lead to something very big further down the line. If honest Ukitake actually expected this, it wasn't often he took a negative outlook on the world, he was simply always so happy for something like that. On this occasion though he did, which very probably meant that he was right on the matter, he was unlikely to think of something drastic happening unless he had grounds to base his theory. He hoped he was wrong, he really did. Perhaps though hope would be enough for him, it had served him so well in the past, pulled him through situations that were dark. Hope was what kept you going when you had nothing, it gave you strength of both body and mind.

"Ah, don't worry, Juushirou. I'll be fine~ "

That was exactly the answer he'd expected from his friend, despite the fact he was likely going to have to deprive himself of sleep for the night Shunsui still wouldn't accept Ukitake's help. “Ahh, well if you need me then you know I'm happy to help.” Again it was a genuine offer, even if Shunsui were to turn up in the middle of the night when Ukitake had long since bedded himself down he'd still get himself going again to help. It was who he was, and it was also an incredibly sad fact that people such as he were now rather rare in the world, either of them. People tended to be cold and off handed, caring for their own wants and needs, when they did something it was because they wanted something from you, not just for the simple desire to do something positive for another. With Ukitake though you could always be sure that he didn't want anything in return from you, that anything he did to help you was done for your own good, not for his. Though of course he did gain satisfaction from knowing he did something that could perhaps better the life of another, it was a trait though that left him somewhat open to exploitation, and also one that could lead to him doing some rather questionable things to help people. Still... It always seemed to work out somehow.

" Yes, I've heard bits and pieces about it; not much. Like how there is a large mass of hollows coming to attack a town, but I'm not sure when, or where... I'm not sure why this is happening, but something seems vaguely familiar about this, but I could be wrong..."

Nodding as he spoke he wasn't to surprised to find that Shunsui already knew a fair deal on the matter, yet there were gaps, and it was these that Ukitake was going to be filling. “You're very correct with everything, though there is more.” Taking a small sip of his tea he held the cup in both hands for a brief time, allowing the warmth of the mug to seep into him. “The attack will be in Tsuzoku, though as of yet I do not know when.” Watching his tea he continued. “I will be putting together a small team later, they will deal with the threat and report back to me... The thing that worries me is that it is all so organized. It is indeed rather reminiscent of past events...” Yes, the very events that had culminated into the loss of eight fine men, captains and lieutenants, if this was happening once more then they were all going to have to be on their toes to ensure that the same thing did not happen once more. It had taken a long while for the soul society to recover after that incident, another, one that may have been worse, could be utterly disasters.

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Ooc:// Crap, sorry X3[/center][/size][/font]