The Beach
Waves crashed against a shining shore as the white head of a young boy pushed aside the foliage of the footpath on which he trotted. The footpath sloped slightly downhill, and the leaves of the plants attempting to take over the path softly brushed his face as he felt his way along until, finally, he broke out onto the bright, sunny, white sand beach near his home.
Juushiro Ukitake looked back toward his family's home that was situated on the top of the hill before turning to admire the glimmering ocean that stretched out endlessly before him. He kicked off his sandals and dashed toward where the ocean met the shore with his sand pail in hand. His feet splashed into the cool water as his toes sank into the wet sand, and he began to kick up the water, sending little shimmering droplets all around him.
His father, he knew, would chastise him for being too active, for fear of the small boy being too hard on his weak lungs. Juushiro had, after all, just gotten over a bout of his illness, and this was the first time in over a week that he had been strong enough to come outside to enjoy the fresh air.
The boy found a spot in the shade where some trees at the edge of the beach grew tall and dropped to his knees in the cool sand there with his bucket. Juushiro removed the small shovel that came with the pail and quietly began to dig in the sand as he hummed to himself. He would fill the bucket with the sand and then turn it over into a pile in front of him. He had picked a spot that was also close enough to the waterline where the sand would be good and wet – wet enough to build a castle!
As the young Juushiro worked, another figure was making its way down to the beach. As he felt his way through the undergrowth, he would occasionally turn his head to glance over his shoulder to see if anyone was coming before suddenly stumbling out onto the sand. The other kid looked around him, but to his dismay, he was not alone as he would have liked to be.
The boy who had stumbled out of the underbrush was the same age as Ukitake with messy brown curly hair that fell over his eyes. He was wearing a light green boy's yukata with a pink flowered obi that held it closed. He blinked his dark eyes against the bright sun and stared at the other boy who was apparently oblivious to his presence.
The other boy was the strangest-looking boy he'd ever seen. He had pure white hair that was cut short and a single white strand that fell into his face. His eyebrows, however, were black as a crow's feather and contrasted with the white hair. His skin was sallow, so much, in fact, that it looked as though he'd never seen the sun in his life. He looked to be the same age as he, and though they had not yet spoken a word, he could tell that the boy had a friendly disposition, despite how strange he looked.
Shunsui Kyouraku approached Juushiro and stood over him. "Whatcha building?"
Juushiro jumped, startled by the unexpected company, but he ventured a friendly, welcoming smile. "A sand castle."
Shunsui squatted down in front of the other boy and peered at him. "I've never seen you before and I've been here a million times. Where'd you come from?"
Ukitake pointed up to his house. "I live in that house on the hill."
"Oh," Shunsui said. "Then how come I've never seen you?"
"Well, I don't get to come outside much," Juushiro responded, a sad undertone to his voice. "My illness prevents me from being out most of the time, but I'm having a good day today."
"Oh, so that's why you're so pale," Shunsui remarked. "I'm Shunsui. Shunsui Kyouraku."
Juushiro smiled. "Juushiro Ukitake." He glanced down at his creation that, so far, wasn't turning out to be very creative. "Want to help me?"
Kyouraku smiled brightly. "Sure!" He sat down and began to work with the boy. "So…why are you so sick all the time?"
"I was born with a chronic lung illness," Juushiro openly admitted. "I can't get too physical or play too rough or I'll start going into coughing fits. It's really quite annoying and inconvenient. My brothers and sisters sometimes forget that I'm not as healthy as they and we get to playing too hard and I have a fit."
"Oh…wow, that's really too bad," Shunsui told him. "Do you ever get excluded from things because you're ill?"
"Yeah, all the time. I wish I could be a normal boy like…well, like you, I suppose, but I try not to let it get me down." Juushiro smiled. "I play as much as I can whenever I can and that's good enough for me."
"Exactly how many brothers and sisters do you have, anyway?" Shunsui asked curiously.
"Five brothers and two sisters. I'm the oldest of them."
Kyouraku's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Holy cow! There's eight of you altogether?!" He giggled. "I bet there's never a dull moment in your house."
"Ha ha…you're right about that. There's always something going on." Juushiro began to smooth down a sand wall with his hands. "What about you? What's your family like?"
Shunsui shrugged. "I'm an only child. My father's a shinigami, but he's gone a lot to deal with Gotei affairs. My mother's home most of the time, and right now, I'm supposed to be with a tutor studying my lessons. But I do have a good family."
"Studying with a tutor? Kyouraku-kun, are you not supposed to be here?" Ukitake questioned.
He grinned satisfyingly. "Nope, but I don't care. It's far too nice of a day to be missing out on adventures."
"What will they do if they find you?"
Shunsui shrugged. "Take me back to the house and ground me or something. Mother will have a fit, but I usually don't get into a whole lot of trouble. Discipline's kind of lax around my place, so it's no big deal."
Juushiro blinked. "Not in my house. If my father found me sneaking away from my lessons, I'd be punished for sure. Education is important to him and he's made it clear that he wants us kids to grow up with one. Besides, I get my lessons done early and quickly so I can have fun later."
"I'm not as disciplined as you, Ukitake-kun," Kyouraku admitted. "I hate to study."
Shunsui made a final pat on his wall and leaned back to admire his work. The two boys had completed a good sized sand castle, and now all that was left to do was dig the moat. Kyouraku dug the shovel into the sand and Juushiro did the same with his hands and together they began to dig a small channel from the water to the castle.
Just then, the boys heard a rustling in the forest behind them and out popped a tall young woman dressed in the fabrics of a lady from a lower noble house. She had brown curly hair that came down to her waist and was dressed in a lavender kimono. In any other circumstance, she would probably have been friendly enough, but her face was hardened into a scowl, and she set her sights on her son.
"Shunsui!" she barked. "We have been looking everywhere for you and you made it all the way down here?!" She strode over and jerked him up by the arm, not acknowledging or even seeming to notice the presence of the white haired boy playing with her son. "I am growing tired of your running off, and this time, you will answer to your father, and I think you know what that means."
Ukitake watched as a brief look of panic washed over his friend's eyes, and he swallowed hard. Kyouraku looked toward Ukitake and gave a wave as his mother dragged him from the beach. Ukitake gave a sympathetic wave, for it seemed clear at the mention of the other boy's father what would be awaiting him when he got home.
He finished the moat they had begun alone and stood up, his knees and shins covered in sand. Ukitake wasn't sure if he'd ever see that boy again, but it had been nice to have a companion to play with besides his brothers and sisters.
He heard the soft rustling of the bushes behind him, and his sister Midori stepped out on the beach. "There you are, Juu-kun. Mother said for me to get you; it's time for dinner."
The boy's face lit up at the mention of food, and he grabbed his pail, slipped into his sandals haphazardly, and took off through the overgrowth hungrily as his sister rushed to follow.
"Juu-kun! Slow down or you'll have a coughing fit!"