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[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

[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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[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

Ukitake followed - Kensei's shunpo pace was fast, but not too fast for someone of his skills, and following the rhythm was easy. During one of the jumps when they were actually in sync, he asked briefly, "Do you have somewhere picked out already?

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, sort of. I saw it one day when I was patrolling," the younger captain nodded, looking back over his shoulder slightly at the white haired man. "It's a nice clearing, near a river, so we can stay out there several days with a good water supply."

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

Ukitake smiled back. "Sounds nice - I look forward to seeing it." It would be good to get around from Seireitei for a while - it was something he didn't do often enough.

FREEDOM!

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

Kensei just grinned, thrilled to see the other Captain smile, and kept the steady pace. There wasn't a real rush, and besides it was a lovely day in the Nexus. They bounced from tree to tree and sometimes on the ground, leaves whispering at their passing, sunlight dappling their less that sometimes solid forms.

Finally Kensei drew up at what he had promised - a river - with a little opening in a semi-circle of trees. He dropped down into the open space, laying down his pack and stretching.

"Good place, right?"

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

Ukitake touched ground a step behind Kensei, pausing a moment to catch his breath. Shunpo was far easier on him than actual running, but he'd gotten out of the habit of long distances, and it was still a little wearing. He gave the other captain a smile, though, as he placed his own pack along side. "An excellent choice, I think.

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

Kensei puffed a little under the praise, but quickly deflated himself as he went about gathering some rocks from the riverbed to form a small circle to hold their fire, using a small spade-like tool from his pack to clear it of grass and other combustibles.

"Mind going to go find some firewood for later?" he asked Ukitake.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

Ukitake gave the other captain a grin. "I think I can handle that much - though I warn you, I'm terrible at fire-starting." He very carefully did not mention exactly how bad - Shunsui teasing him about almost starting a forest fire was bad enough without /more/ people knowing about it.

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

"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.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

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."

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

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.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

"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."

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

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.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

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.

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

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.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

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.

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

"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.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

"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."

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

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

"What was that about being out of practice?"

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

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

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

"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.

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

"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."

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

"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."

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

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."

[the-original-69.livejournal.com]

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

[piscestruth.livejournal.com]

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."