pocketsfullof | (no subject)

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[Ukitake is waiting on the porch outside the 13th division headquarters, pack on the ground beside him, and, typically cup of tea in hand. There's an extra cup and a small pot on the other side of him, waiting for his companion. He's his usual calm, cheerful self, although he's not wearing his captain's haori at the moment, and this morning is hair is pulled back into a ponytail.]

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"I can handle that part, you just get the rest of camp set up," he grinned, dashing away into the woods.

He came back about a half hour later with an armload of wood, dropping it down carefully away from the pit, and then stacking some together in a little tepee like structure.

"All right, we're in business!" he beamed.

It had taken the older man a few minutes of slightly perplexed staring at everything else before his memory clicked - it really /had/ been a long time since he'd been on any sort of extended field mission. He sometimes suspected the other captains conspired to deliberately keep him away from field work - he understood why, but it still frustrated him occasionally.

Nonetheless, by the time Kensei had returned, he had gotten the rest of the camp set up to his full satisfaction. He returned the grin. "That we are."

He stretched, taking in a deep breath of fresh air, soaking it in. It was good to be out here, to just enjoy the outdoors without feeling like he was being watched all night, like he had a sword poised to take off his head if he so much as sneezed wrong.

He shrugged off his top, leaving him in nothing but his pants and his shoes. He was sweating a bit from the previous efforts, but clearly enjoyed the burn of his muscles, the ache.

"Well, wanna help me catch dinner?" he pointed at the river with a grin.

"Of course - though again, no guarantees here. My skills have gotten a little rusty over the last century." His own work had been far less exerting than Kensei's, so he opted to leave his kimono top on, but after a moment's thought, he knelt, and quickly undid the ties on his sandals, slipping both them and his tabi off. "-There. I hate having wet socks."

That made the other captain laugh, a deep, bass sound that came from deep in his belly and chest.

"Yeah, they are the worst! And I think your version of rusty and mine are quite different," he reached out and punched the other in a friendly way on the shoulder before heading to the water.

Kensei's laugh brought a complimentary one out of Jyuushirou. It felt freer out here, somehow. Fewer concerns. "Well, I suppose we'll see once we get started." The punch made his grin widen a little. It was particularly nice to be with someone who didn't treat him like he'd break if someone looked at him funny.

Kensei kicked off his own shoes and tabi at the bank, rolling up his pants to care his knees and plunged in. He let out a sort of yelp - the water was cold!

But that was all. His face screwed into a mask of concentration, peering down into the water, watching for the glint of fish swimming by.

Ukitake sat down on the river's bank, hiking up his hakama a little to keep the hems out of the water, and dangled his feet into the river. As Kensei's yelp had forewarned him, the water was ice-cold - spring melt, still. "Hmm. I think I'll stay here, for the moment." He glanced into the water as well, though, looking out for fish. He /could/ cheat - but not just yet. If they didn't catch anything in a bit, perhaps.

"Aw, come on, the water's fine!" Kensei grinned, suddenly twisting and snatching into the water.

He pouted when he came up empty handed, though he just went back to searching again, clearly not one to be discouraged by one miss. The fact he'd managed to touch the fish at all was an accomplishment.

"I try to avoid hypothermia for the most part," Ukitake returned with a grin. There was a flash of silver by his feet, and he snatched, putting a bit of his power behind it. He was rewarded with a wriggling trout, quickly killed with the barest touch of kidou. "There's one."

Kensei stared at him for a moment, then mock frowned.

"What was that about being out of practice?"

Jyuushirou gave him a wide grin back. "Speed versus strength. I have to make up for my lack of stamina /somewhere/."

"But someone out of practice would not have caught a fish first try!" Kensei retorted, laughter just beneath his words to lessen their blow.

He turned his attention back to the water, watching the fish ever so carefully, like a great silver bear.

"My mother's family were all fishers - I suspect we have different definitions of 'out of practice'," Jyuushirou returned with a laugh. "Old instincts die hard."

"Fishers huh? I never knew that," he admitted as he watched the sparkling silver of fish swim on by. "In fact, you never told any of us to much about yourself."

Ukitake laughed warmly in response. "I think I wore out most of my stories about my family in the first century or two, so they don't get told much now."

"Well, maybe you should think about telling them to us young-ins," Kensei waded over towards Ukitake, following a fish.

Ukitake spotted the fish Kensei was following, as it swam towards his dangling feet, and reached out to snatch at it. He barely managed to touch it, and then it darted away, further down the river, and he sighed. "Like I said...rusty." He glanced up at the other man and grinned. "And I've got two millenia of stories - you're probably better off just asking me questions."

"I will decide if I wanted questions or stories, thank you very much," Kensei shook his finger at the other - then darted, snagging a new fish and proceeding to waggle that at Ukitake. "Pick one and start there. We have time out here."

Jyuushirou laughed warmly at Kensei's command. "Well, let's see - I suppose I ought to start at the beginning, then. I was born into Soul Society, rather than having been born in the Living World first. I have seven siblings, five brothers, two sisters - the youngest two are twins."

He whistles. "That's a lot of brothers and sisters. You the oldest or somewhere in the middle?"

Ukitake grinned in return. "Oldest. And most of them had similarly large families - our clan has grown large, over the last two thousand years."

"I'll bet!" he shook his head. "Do you see any of them anymore? Being Captain doesn't leave you with much personal time."

"I see some of my younger nieces and nephews - though half the time it's because I'm on sick leave again. Most of my siblings and my parents moved on to the Living World centuries ago, although two became shinigami as well - my youngest sister is in Fourth, and my second-youngest brother in Second," he replied.

"Seriously? I had no idea. But then I don't run either squad so..." he shrugged.