Di woke to the sound of her tent being kicked in. She lay for a moment in her sleeping bag, still slightly groggy, listening to the thumping of kicks on canvas before struggling out. She unzipped the back of the tent and glared at the locals who were outside.

"What the hell do you want?!" she snapped, angry at being woken so early. To her surprise it was the owner of the campsite.

"We want you guys off this campsite by 10am today." he replied shortly. Di noticed the look on his face. Behind her, Raiden stirred and looked up.

"Fine by us. We'll return the minibus at 9. Sorry to have caused an inconvenience." Di replied, biting back any retorts she had stored up. It was technically their own fault that they were being kicked out. They had as good as disturbed the entire campsite last night. She shuddered, watching as the owner walked off, remembering the previous night.

Never again. It happened too fast. She sighed to herself and slipped back into the tent. She noticed that Raiden was up but instead concentrated on getting her clothes together and packing up her sleeping bag.

"What was that about just now, Di?"

"Get your stuff together. We're leaving this campsite today." Di replied, picking her sleeping bag up under one arm and leaving the tent. Raiden watched her go, still slightly confused.

Is she angry at me after last night still? Di knocked hard on the door of the girls' mobile home until Nanao came to it in her pyjamas.

"We've got an eviction notice, Nanao-san. We're going to have to move elsewhere by 10am." A shocked and angry look appeared on Nanao's features and for a minute Di thought she would explode. Instead she pushed her glasses up and nodded.

"Thank you, Di-san. I will have a word with Kyoraku-taicho in a moment. Please wake everyone else up." Di nodded and started banging on the other caravan doors as Nanao knocked firmly on Kyoraku's caravan door. Di knocked on Ukitake and Mint's tent until Mint poked her head out, still sleepy-eyed.

"What are you doing? It's still early!" Di folded her arms and sighed hard.

"We're being evicted after our stunts last night. I don't blame them personally." Mint sighed too.

"Yeah. I guess it can't be helped. Where will we go?" Di shrugged and leaned against the tent frame.

"I dunno. I guess me, Jai, Nat and Nanao will have to come up with somewhere. Don't worry about it. Nanao's furious though." Mint nodded, listening to the sounds of Nanao shouting at Kyoraku.

"Clearly. Is breakfast still at eight?" Di nodded.

"Yeah. Get your tent packed up as soon as possible." She made her way over to her own tent while Mint closed the flap. Ukitake was awake and watching her.

"We're being evicted, Mint?" Mint nodded and began to pull the sleeping bag off the camping bed.

"Yeah. Good morning, Jyuushirou-san." She smiled over at him.

Oh thank goodness! She's not angry at me over last night! Ukitake thought to himself. He allowed himself to smile back. I couldn't stand it if she was.

"So you're not angry at me over last night?" Mint laughed.

"Oh no. Why would I be? It was just a game!" Ukitake grinned.

Of course. I was worrying about nothing. After all, Nat did say that it wasn't a reflection on reality. Mint leaned down and kissed him, enjoying the feel of his lips on her.

I was so embarrassed last night, Jyuushirou-san. I guess sleeping it off did some good. She broke apart and began folding up the camp bed.

"We have to hurry though. Breakfast is at 8." Ukitake yawned and stretched.

"People won't be talking about last night at breakfast, will they Mint?" Mint smiled reassuringly at him.

"I doubt it, Jyuushirou-san."


Mint looked up from her cereal as she realised she was being watched. She glanced over Di's shoulder as a woman with a small child stopped dead to stare at the group. The child tugged his mother's skirt and said, "Look, look mummy! That's the crazy girl who said the world was going to end last night!"

The woman glared at Mint before saying, "Hush dear, don't make eye contact. She's just crazy, let's go." Mint flicked her eyes to Di who was smirking at her, piece of toast in hand.

"Way to go Di! You've made the entire campsite hate me thanks to your dare! What have I ever done to you?!" Jai snorted into his cereal.

"Well done Di." Di shrugged.

"I had no idea that would happen. Besides, we're getting kicked out anyway. If I hadn't made up that dare on the spot then Nat would've made you do something even worse! You should be thanking me!" Ukitake patted Mint's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"We know you're not crazy Mint." he said. Di smirked as she patted her friend on the head.

"Speak of the devil. Morning, Nat!" Nat sat down beside Jai, yawning. "So...did you make much money last night...you know...with all those bargain blowjobs?" Di smirked at him. Nat flushed and glared at her.

"Do you do lap dancing for a living?" he shot back. It was Di's turn to flush. She turned away and drank some orange juice, refusing to look at Raiden. Mint grinned at her.

Di saw and said, "What? Do you do pole dancing for a living then Mint?" Mint turned red and looked down at her cereal.

Renji and Kyoraku came to the table together and started helping themselves to food. Kyoraku parked himself beside Ukitake and grinned suggestively at him.

"Enjoy yourself last night, Ukitake?" Ukitake flushed bright red as did Mint.

"I don't think Nanao-san wants you to have her babies, Kyoraku-san." Di replied snidely. Kyoraku merely smiled at her.

"But you also had fun last night, right Di-chan? Frolicking was interesting surely?" Raiden grinned but Mint saw Di's face change from open to closed and she refused to look at anyone. It was as if her mood had immediately darkened.

"It was." Raiden replied, oblivious. Jai and Nat grinned appreciatively but Mint shot him a look which clearly said, 'Shut up'. Raiden noticed and shrugged, pretending to not look bothered.

"Will someone please explain to her that it was just a game?! God knows I've tried!" Di's eyes flashed up from her picked-at plate.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Mint stared as her friend left the table and made her way back to the mobile homes, bypassing Matsumoto and Isane who were coming out. Mint looked at Di's barely touched plate.

Oh dear. I have no idea what's going on. Clearly she's not angry at him due to the game. Did something else happen? She looked over at Raiden and saw a stricken look pass across his face for an instant. It was swiftly replaced by a nonchalant shrug as Renji sat down next him.

"Whatever. Morning, doggy boy." Renji glared at him.

"Shut up! You're in hardly any position to talk! You had to kiss him!" He jerked his thumb at Nat. Raiden shuddered. Nat grinned at Renji.

"You were everyone's bitch last night weren't you, Renji?" Renji flushed as red as his hair.

"No! I just-" Mint stuck her fingers in her ears.

"People! I thought we weren't supposed to be talking about this past the circle! Everyone stop!" She picked at her cereal.

Suddenly I'm not hungry anymore either.


Mint finally caught up with Di in the mobile home. She was circling a place on the map with one hand and brushing her teeth at the same time. She looked up as Mint came in and pushed the map towards her, indicating that this was where they were going. Mint looked at the place marked Karekare Beach. Di spat into the sink before talking.

"So yeah, we've decided to go back to Lake Taupo to do some watersports before moving on to the beach. I rang up the beach caretakers and they said they're fine with us camping there." Mint nodded before glancing at her friend who was rinsing.

"Di? Did something happen between you and Raiden last night?" Di's face darkened.

"Why? What's he been saying?" she asked quietly. Mint detected concealed anger and decided to tread carefully.

"He hasn't said a thing. It's pretty obvious that something's up- just the way you're acting." Di sighed and perched on the edge of the bed. Mint noticed that she looked tired.

"It's nothing. I just need to figure out a few things today. By myself."

"Are you angry at him though?" Di shrugged.

"I don't really know. I just don't want to talk to him at the minute though." Mint looked confused.

"If it'll help...he looked really worried when you left...like...'oh shit' kind of worried. It's like...he knows he's done something wrong, except he doesn't know what it is." Di smiled.

"Thanks. I'll talk to him in my own time." Mint decided not to question her.

Well, I guess she knows what she's doing...I hope. There was a knock on the caravan door.

"Huh?" Mint went to get it.

It can't be one of the girls...they wouldn't have knocked. She looked out and saw the entire Snoop Gang on the doorstep. Di saw and groaned.

What the hell are these guys doing here? Matsumoto poked her head in.

"Is Di-chan OK?" Mint groaned inwardly.

"Of course...why wouldn't she be?" Ukitake was amongst them and Mint noticed that he looked worried. Seeing him concerned made her equally concerned.

What's wrong, Jyuushirou-san?

"Are Di and Raiden still going out?" Nat demanded. Di looked around Mint.

"The hell?! Why? Ask Rice that." Ukitake looked at Mint.

"He doesn't know. He thinks you've broken up with him...or are about to." Kyoraku replied. Di felt her heart wrench painfully.

What's that supposed to mean? She folded her arms and sniffed.

"Whatever. Tell that idiot we still are. Don't know what he's getting so confused about." A collective sigh of relief could be heard as Mint closed the door.

"What are you going to do?" Di shrugged.

"Work things out I guess."


Di pulled into the parking space beside Nat's caravan and turned off the engine. Mint looked outside and marvelled at how blue the water looked. Di had informed them on the way that they'd be doing sailing and kayaking. She radioed Jai as he pulled into the parking space beside her.

"Everyone from your caravan get in mine. I'm going to give you all a condensed sailing lesson before we get out on the water." Di crawled over the back of the seats and fixed the white board, praying that there wouldn't be too much of a squash. Nanao checked her clipboard.

"We have three sailing boats, a powerboat and a topper on hire, Di-san." Di pulled out a board marker as people began to pile onto the bus.

"Oh good."

I can take the topper. None of the others are experienced enough to use a one-man and...it gives me time to myself to think.

Mint sat on the floor next to Ukitake who had pulled out a notepad and paper. Kyoraku, on one of the couches had done the same. Di blinked several times before continuing.

"Right- this is how you tack and this is how you jibe. Don't get them mixed up out on the lake. Tacking is for upwind purposes and the bow of your boat crosses the wind. Jibing on the other hand is used downwind and is where the stern of the boat crosses the wind." Mint tried to take in as much of the lecture as she could. There was a lot of information.

Wow. Di really seems to know her stuff. "Remember to communicate with your crew if you're a helmsman. They will generally be facing in the opposite direction being completely oblivious about what's happening. To avoid accidents with the boom, make sure everyone is ready. Also, please no uncontrolled jibing- this puts strain on the rigging and it can break. And it will probably concuss someone or worse if the boom swings across like that." A few minutes later, Di moved on to talking about knots. Finally, she finished up with how to properly rig a boat.

"Any questions?"

"What boats do we have? Are we all in sailing boats?" Renji asked from the doorway where he and Raiden were leaning. Di shook her head.

"No. There are three boats which can seat up to four people, a powerboat which can have up to three people in it and a topper- which is a one-man." She clapped her hands and smiled. "So, everyone split up into groups and we'll walk down to get the gear."


Mint glanced at the boats. Wow. At least they look sturdy. She tried to remember what Di had said about the whole aspect of sailing. Ukitake beamed at her.

"Come on then, Mint. Di said to get into the boats and rig them." Mint stared at him.

"But, Jyuushirou-san...we don't really know how to do that! I mean...I didn't take in all the information she said...and she said a lot..." Ukitake patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. I wrote down exactly where everything goes." He frowned. "Although...this lifejacket is very uncomfortable." Di walked up and down the row of boats, watching as they got on with rigging.

I've definitely missed sailing. She watched in satisfaction as Mint, Ukitake, Kira and Shuuhei pieced together rigging the boat. Down the line she saw that Kyoraku, Nanao and Isane were also making good progress. Kira looked up from his end of the jib sheet as Ukitake read out the instructions.

"Thread it through the left cleat and tie a figure of eight knot in the end to hold it, Kira." Mint looked up from trying to force the centre board down as Kira managed this and then sat down on the bench to figure out how to tie the knot. After several attempts he managed to tie a knot which refused to go back through the cleats.

"Nice one Kira!" Shuuhei grinned from the other side. "How did you do that?" Kira looked at the end of the rope in confusion.

"I don't think this is the right way to do it...it looks nothing like Di-san's figure of eight." Shuuhei shrugged.

"So? It's not going back through that cleat-thingy so it should be OK." Kira didn't look convinced.

"Maybe I should ask Di-san."

"Nah. Don't bother her. I think she might snap your head off if you did. She's in a funny mood today." Shuuhei said, trying to deter him. Kira sighed and gave up.

"OK. Give me that."

Mint felt the centre board sink with a thump and then turned back to Ukitake who was threading the mainsail line through the rudder.

"Do you need any help?" Ukitake looked up and smiled.

"No. I think I've got the hang of this. Could you check to see whether the rudder's in properly or not?" Mint leaned over the side and looked at the wooden rudder. She could hear Nanao's voice on the wind, arguing with Kyoraku over some minor detail. She risked a glance at Jai and Nat's boat. There's definitely something up with that sail. Di made her way back past the powerboat and noticed that Renji and Raiden were in it. Renji hailed her.

"Hey! How does this thing work, Di?" Di sighed and climbed in, focussing completely on the steering wheel and throttle.

"This is the steering wheel. This is the throttle. Turn the steering wheel to the right to go right and to the left to go left. Throttle controls the speed- don't go too fast or you might lose control. Reverse is for going backwards. You two will be responsible for helping out the others in the sailing boats. If they get into difficulties- help them, the first aid kit is in here. Hopefully it won't be needed. Right. I'm off." She turned to get out of the boat and felt Raiden's hand grab hers. She froze with a hand on the railing at the contact.

"Wait. Where are you going?" he asked quietly. Di turned her head away.

"I'm taking the topper to the other side of the lake. You two stay here and look after the others." Renji laughed.

"What?! And what happens if you run into difficulties? That boat doesn't exactly look stable." Di smiled.

"I'll be fine. I know what to do if I capsize. I've done this before remember?" Renji shrugged.

"Fine. Give us a shout if you need anything." Di grinned at him.

"Probably my lunch."

"Why can't you stay here?" Raiden asked. Di pulled her hand free slowly.

"We've hired the topper out. It would be a shame to not use it." she replied without looking back.

"Di-"

She leapt out of the powerboat and ran over to the topper. She began rigging it furiously, her hands working separately from her head. As she rearranged her centreboard, meaning to put it in once she reached deeper water, she realised she was trembling.

Damn it! Why am I like this? One part of me wants to run back and kiss him senseless... the other part wants to get the hell away from him! She looked over to see that Mint and Kyoraku's boats had left the pier and were sailing away. Nice. she thought. I'll go check on Nat's boat. What's taking it so long to leave?


When she reached there, Renji and Raiden were leaning over the rail of the powerboat surveying what was going wrong. Di looked at the scene, horrified. Matsumoto was lazing in the sun on the bow of the boat. Nat, who had correctly inserted the rudder was lounging around and shouting at Jai who was hopelessly tangled up in the jib sheet and ropes at the front of the boat.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Everyone turned at the sound of Di's voice. Matsumoto waved.

"Hi Di-chan! We're having a bit of difficulty. I propose that we stay here and sunbathe." Di gave her a look as Jai's muffled cries for help came from the sail.

"No chance, Rangiku-san. Who delegated these jobs? Why is Jai stuck with both the mainsail line and the jib sheets? In fact...why is Jai stuck at all?"

"Isn't one person supposed to manage all the ropes?" Nat asked. "I swear you said that."

"No!" Di snapped, running a hand through her hair distractedly. "I said no such thing! You're supposed to be managing the mainsail line! It threads through the rudder!" Nat noticed.

"Ahhh...right." Di rubbed her temples.

"Someone free Jai, now." Matsumoto rose with a yawn and helped Jai get out. Di noticed the centre board was still lying on the floor, the mainsail had somehow become attached to the jib- which wasn't even clipped up. Not to mention the mess of ropes on the floor- none of which were in the right cleats. She sighed.

"I'm going to check on the others before going off. Renji, help them with this." Di ran off down the shore, ignoring Renji's look of horror. Matsumoto grinned at Renji.

"So...what do we do?" Renji looked at the boat incredulously.

"I haven't the foggiest idea. As soon as I heard the word powerboat I zoned out." Nat grinned.

"Does it look OK to you? Can we go?" Renji shrugged.

"Beats me. I guess you can." Jai picked up the centreboard and started trying to insert it.

Raiden hopped over the guard rail and into the boat. Jai, Nat, Matsumoto and Renji looked on in amazement as he rigged the entire boat himself without a word. Renji spluttered at him when he got back into the powerboat.

"Wow." said Jai, looking speechlessly at the now clear deck of the boat. Matsumoto pushed down her sunglasses to give Raiden a look.

"How the hell did you do that? You've never sailed in your life!" Renji said to him in shock. Raiden shrugged.

"I listened to her." Renji grinned at him.

"Right. We should get going too. Di told us to keep an eye on everyone else." He tried to turn the key and stopped when he felt resistance. "Why is it making odd noises?" he asked as the engine choked each time. Raiden turned the key violently to the right and the engine started with a roar. Renji stared at him again.

"OK...how the hell did you know how to do that? She didn't tell us how to do that."

"I watched her drive the caravan. The ignition system's the same." Renji shot him a look.

"You've been watching her a lot." he remarked. Raiden sat down and looked out into the lake spying the orange-striped sail of the topper amongst the two other sailing boats.

"Yeah I guess." he replied despondently as Renji unsteadily steered them away from the pier.