"But, Nanao-chan, sake is very healthy for you. Everyone knows that." Shunsui Kyoraku was leaning on his lieutenant's desk, his flowery haori threatening to knock over her inkpot.

"Captain, if you don't remove yourself from my desk, I will turn that absurd robe of yours into the regulation black for you," Nanao threatened. She was so cute when she was annoyed at him.

"Surely my Nanao-chan wouldn't be so cruel to me!" he objected playfully. "Besides, it wouldn't do any good. I have a dozen others at home."

There was a soft knock at the door. "Come in," Shunsui said, still lounging on the desk.

Captain Unohana came in. "Shunsui," she said calmly, "you should come now. Jushiro just collapsed."

He slid off Nanao's desk, his heart in his throat. "Is he all right?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Truthfully, I wouldn't wait, if I were you."

"Go," Nanao urged him. "I can take care of things as long as necessary."

Shunsui flash-stepped to Jushiro's apartment at top speed. His friend was propped up on half a dozen pillows. His eyes were closed and sunken, and his breath was coming in ragged rasps. Shunsui noticed that his white captain's robe had been set aside, stained badly with blood. A healer was watching over him.

The girl rose and bowed. "We've done what we can for now. I'll need to return in a half hour to give a second dose. Until then, I'll be waiting outside. Please summon me if he gets worse or needs anything," she said. She left the room and shut the door behind her.

Shunsui sat beside his old friend. "Hey. You awake, you old faker?"

Jushiro opened his eyes. "More or less," he rasped.

"You don't fool me, you know," said Shunsui. "I know perfectly well that you just didn't want to work today."

"You caught me," Jushiro said. His eyes fluttered closed again. Shunsui had never seen him so bad before. His friend had a powerful sense of dignity, and he always insisted on at least sitting up to receive visitors. Now, he couldn't even seem to keep his eyes open.

Shunsui had begun to wonder if Jushiro had fallen asleep when he began to cough. "Rag," he gasped, pointing at a pile. Shunsui grabbed one and handed it to him. Jushiro's body shook violently, and he needed a second rag almost at once. He's really going to die, Shunsui realized.

As Jushiro relaxed back, he seemed to notice Shunsui's expression. "Hey, why the long face? You know this is only temporary," he said. "I'll be up drinking sake before you know it. And you know I'm going to beat you this week."

"Yeah, right," Shunsui said. "You haven't beaten me for decades."

"I beat you three years ago, in April."

"That was not a fair fight," Shunsui protested. "I had already been drinking that day."

"Is there ever a day when you don't?" Jushiro asked. He laughed. Or at least tried to, before it turned into a cough. "Hey, do you remember the first time?"

Shunsui laughed, too. "Oh, yes. Can you believe how long it's been?"

C.E. 41

Jushiro Ukitake walked up to the walls of Seireitei tentatively. They were tall. Really, really tall. Jushiro was born in Soul Society, and all his life, he'd seen these walls from his family's estate. Still, they were much more impressive up close.

"You just going to look at them, or are you going in?" someone drawled behind him.

It was a young man with long, curly hair and a straw hat. He was lounging in a tree, chewing on a grass stalk. He jumped down lazily. "I'm Shunsui Kyoraku. I'm a new student in the Academy. Who're you?"

This odd boy was a member of the prestigious Kyoraku family? He seemed to realize what Jushiro was thinking, because he added, "Yes, I know, I'm supposed to be snooty and aristocratic, but I find it too dull. You meet much more interesting people if you don't turn your nose up at them. Anyway," he added seriously, "we're supposed to be in this Academy for skill, not blood, so I don't think family should matter too much."

Jushiro snorted mentally. Either the boy was making fun of him, or he was incredibly naïve. "I'm Jushiro Ukitake," he said, opting to reserve judgment for later.

"Pleased to meet you," Kyoraku said. "Shall we head in? I'll show you around."

Kyoraku showed him around, making an impish and naughty commentary on many of the teachers and fellow students. By the time Jushiro finally managed to break away from him, his ears were burning with embarrassment. To his dismay, it turned you that Kyoraku was his roommate. Resignedly, he headed for his new dorm room, sure it was going to be a long year.

As it happened, Jushiro was wrong about Kyoraku. He was a much more irritating roommate than Jushiro expected. Jushiro worked very hard for his grades. Every day, he spent the time between school and dinner practicing his swordsmanship and Kido. Then, after a brief dinner, he did homework until bedtime. Kyoraku wandered in and out, apparently not doing any work at all. And on top of that, he snored incredibly loudly when he slept, which was a good part of the day.

At first Jushiro consoled himself that a lazy student like Kyoraku would probably fail out in a few months. To his appalled surprise, Kyoraku scored in the top ten of the class. Jushiro was the top scorer, but he knew he was working. It galled him that this apparently foolish young noble could do so well without even trying.

For his part, Kyoraku found Jushiro incredibly stuffy. He followed exactly the same routine every day, without any variation, as far as he could tell. He didn't seem to enjoy anything: not naps, not the outdoors, and he didn't even seem to notice the looks he got from young women. When Shunsui pointed them out, Jushiro simply gave them a cursory glance and said, "I'm too busy for romantic entanglements."

Well, what was life without a few entanglements?

The week after their final exams, something finally snapped in Kyoraku. Even though they had a whole week of vacation ahead, he came into their room to find Jushiro bent over his books. "That's it," he said. "You're coming with me."

Kyoraku dragged his roommate out the door, and out of the dorms, protesting all the way. He steered him to the gates of Seireitei, and propelled him out into Rukongai.

"Now, just a minute!" Jushiro protested. "Where are we going? We aren't even allowed to leave the Academy grounds, let alone go outside Seireitei."

"First of all," Kyoraku said, "don't be a prude. Second of all, it's vacation, and even students are allowed to go where they please on vacation. And if there was ever a student who needs a vacation, it's you." He dragged Jushiro to his favorite pub and got them a seat. Then, he got them both a bottle of sake, and poured a glass for each of them. "Drink," he ordered.

"But I don't…"

"Drink it," Kyoraku insisted. "Or I will force you to drink it. And we both know I'm better than you in swordsmanship."

Jushiro obeyed, and Kyoraku drank a cup himself. There was simply nothing like sake. He enjoyed the slight burning sensation as it slid down his throat. He was already on his third cup by the time Jushiro finished the first, but Kyoraku poured another for his roommate. He protested, but Kyoraku overrode him. By the fourth cup, he was drinking of his own accord. And wonder of wonders, he was actually talking.

"So, I gotta wonder," Jushiro said, "how you manage to do so good when you don't even study. I was starting to think maybe you were cheating, but you always know the answer in class, too. You some kind of genius, or what?" He poured himself another cup.

"Honestly, I didn't really want to come here," Kyoraku said. "I'd have preferred to stay on the family estate and be a part of the business. This fighting and studying isn't really my thing. But my father owes the Old Man some favors, so when he said he wanted me to come to the Academy, I came." Man, he was getting drunk now, too, even though he was only on his second bottle. He usually didn't like talking about why he was in the Academy.

"Figures," Jushiro said. "I work for three years to get in, and you get forced in without even trying."

"Well, why are you here, then?" Kyoraku asked.

"My parents are dead," Jushiro said. "I've got seven other kids to support. Gotta get a good job, maybe even become captain." He yawned. "Makes you tired, though."

"How'd your parents die?" Kyoraku asked.

"Band of thieves broke into our estate. They got a lot of people. My parents were trying to protect the servants. Didn't exactly work, I guess. A dozen of them died, along with my sister and parents," Jushiro explained.

Kyoraku didn't say anything. He had thought Jushiro was just a straight-laced young man with the expectations of his family weighing on him. He never guessed he had responsibilities like that. "Sorry," he said.

"'S all right. Was a long time ago," Jushiro said. He tried pouring himself another cup of sake, but he missed the cup and dropped the bottle. He slumped over the table and fell asleep.

Kyoraku picked up the bottle before it all spilled. "You shouldn't spill sake," he said to Jushiro's head. "It's a crime in some places, you know." And with a toast to his unconscious friend, Kyoraku continued drinking.

Present Day

"I really thought I was going to die the next day, you know," Jushiro said.

"But you have to admit that it broke the ice," Kyoraku said. "Or melted it, anyway. And it started a tradition."

"It certainly did. And my grades felt it."

"Jyu, you finished first in our class anyway. I'd hardly say you were seriously injured by it," Kyoraku said.

Jushiro started coughing again, and Kyoraku went to get him a drink of water.