"so how are things going with ukitake? You enjoying your new captain?" Urahara asked Kumiko, sitting opposite eachother on the hospital bed, playing cards between them on the little table
"it's been good. He's lovely. His third seats are amusing" Kumiko said looking at her hand, deciding what card to use "I miss you though, it's not the same. You have any threes?"
"go fish." He told her, watching as she picked another card. Finally getting the hang of this world of the living card game she had been teaching him "I probably won't be able to return to work right away, Unohana will probably send me home with orders to rest a few days. Got any tens?"
Kumiko frowned giving him her ten, which he happily took, placing the pair on his pile "so long as you're getting better, that's all I care about"
"you have any sevens?"He smiled at her
"go fish" she grinned back at him "I saw Hisagi and captain komamura today, ukitake wrote down what happened and wrote the report after. Any jacks?"
"go fish. What was your reactions?"
Kumiko put her new card in her hand before answering "Hisagi made me blush. I felt embarrassed but it wasn't overpowering. Similar to Kira, it was more powerful but I can get around it fine". She paused at his chuckle
"poor Hisagi, I've never met anyone blush around girls quite as much as he does"
"he was blushing more than I was" Kumiko laughed. Pointing out it was his turn
"kings? How was komamura?"he said grabbing another card at her head shake
"he made me cry" she smiled at his concerned look "like bawling my eyes out, sobbing ugly crying" she laughed "he looked so panicked, bless him. He was begging me to stop"
"I can imagine" he laughed, thinking of the massive wolf panicking over a crying five foot six, if he was being generous with her height, woman
"it reminded me of your spiritual pressure. In the way that yours doesn't necessarily make me feel happy, it just makes me laugh. His didn't make me feel sad, I just couldn't stop crying. You have any fours?"
"damn it" he grumbled handing it over
Kumiko sat on Uraharas bed, watching the sun setting over Seireitei, hugging her knees to her chest gently. Urahara snoring keeping her company, she spared him a sweet smile. After talking and playing cards he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, he ended up falling asleep while trying to convince Kumiko he wasn't tired
Kumiko wondering what was taking shunsui so long was interrupted by the man himself walking through the door
"hey" Kumiko greeted him softly, getting off the bed to meet him in a hug"I was wondering where you had gotten too"
"sorry love" he told her, kissing her sweetly. "I had to run to the shopping district after nanao let me leave" he grinned at her "how's urahara?" He nodded to the sleeping man
"good. He's staying up longer now. We played cards" she told him, cheek pressed to his hairy chest
"ready to go home?" He asked her softly
Kumiko nodded, removing herself from his arms "yeah"
"I'll just leave this " he told her, bringing out a brown paper bag from his pocket , Kumiko recognised the design, it was from the sweet shop she visits to feed Uraharas sweet addiction. Gentle smile on her face as she watched him leave the bag on the table next to urahara.
"hopefully he'll like them more than the flowers" shunsui grinned at her, grabbing her hand in his to walk them home.
"that was sweet of you" she told him, closing the door behind her"he'll love them"
Entering their home, Kumiko spotted a full backpack sat on his sofa, the same wicker basket from their first date sat next to it
"what all that?" She asked shunsui Intrigued
"A surprise". He told her with a smile, placing the take out they had stopped to get on the counter in the kitchen. "I'm taking you out tomorrow "
"ukitake told me you asked for a day off, where we going?" She asked turning to the food to open the containers
"it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you" he grinned over his shoulder, grabbing two plates from the cupboard and placing them next to her "drink?"
"I'll just have a water please" she asked him, dishing out the food while he got her water and a sake for himself
"how was komamura?" Shunsui asked, joining Kumiko at the table with a knowing smile
Kumiko laughed "you could have warned me he was a ten foot wolf" shaking her head at his chuckle "it went alright, he's really nice"
"what were your reactions? Did he make you howl?" He laughed around his words, kumikos loud laugh joining him
"don't be mean." She pushed his arm gently "Hisagi made me blush, we were both red faced" she told him eating her food
"that sounds about right" he grinned
"and komamura made me cry" she told him watching as his eyes darkened slightly "it wasn't his fault." She soothed him, reaching out to hold his wrist "I just burst out crying, I wasn't sad or anything. I think he felt worse than I did". She smiled "he looked like he wanted to run away, he didn't know what to do"
"you're ok?" He checked, not enjoying hearing about her crying
"perfectly fine". She promised "as soon as he pulled his spiritual pressure I was fine "
shunsui nodded, pleased she was ok "Jushiro looked after me, we relaxed in his office after. He was telling me about his family"
"they're a nice bunch" he smiled at her "I was over there all the time as a kid"
"like they needed any more children running around" she laughed at him
shunsui grinned "they had no problem keeping us all in line, his mother has hit me across the head with a slipper more than once" fondly remembering the motherly woman
"just as a kid?" She teased him
"god no, she hit me the last time I was there" he chuckled, remembering the sharp whack to his hand as he tried stealing the food she was making, she was lethal with that wooden spoon
shunsui cleared the table as Kumiko laughed "come on love, we've got an early start in the morning" he told her, helping her to stand before wrapping his arms around her, hands pushing her ass towards him "I believe I promised to continue what we started in the shower this morning" he grinned as her eyes lit up
A shrill alarm woke Kumiko the next day, blinking her eyes to try and wake up enough to turn it off. Shunsui leaned over her and gently tapped the alarm, silencing it's cry.
Kumiko sighed, stretching her body "it's too early" she mumbled, rolling back into her pillow "the suns not even up yet"
"we've got a bit of a walk today" shunsui told her, wrapping her up in his arms. Kumiko groaned not ready to get out of bed "come on lazy," he laughed tapping her bottom playfully before getting out of bed
Kumiko laughed gently at the irony , famous for being the laziest, work avoiding captain in the gotai 13 calling her lazy "what should I wear?" she asked him, watching as he pulled on some boxers
"something comfortable" he offered. "It's going to be hot today" before heading to the kitchen to finish packing what they'll need
Kumiko begrudgingly got out of bed, walking to the wardrobe to look through her clothes. Since she's not working Kumiko decided on clothes from the world of the living, settling on some Jean shorts and a loose white top
Walking through the Seireitei while its occupants were sleeping was surprisingly peaceful. The sun has just started to rise as they left, warm morning glow lighting up their path. Shunsui walked beside her, large rucksack on his back, basket swinging loosely in his grasp.
Kumiko was glancing at his body, he had decided on wearing long shorts and a light blue top, that clung to his body, showing off what she knew lie beneath.
"exactly how long of a walk is it?" She asked him, jaw dropping at his response
"about four hours " he said before laughing at her face "I can flash step us most of the way. We should get there in under two hours"
"if you told me where we were going" she tried teasing the destination out of him "I could just flash step next to you"
"nice try" he grinned, holding her hand, directing her to the outskirts of the Seireitei
after about 45 minutes of walking, talking softly between them, shunsui came to a stop, placing the basket onto the grassy field they arrived at "alright love, can you put the bag on for a bit? I need you to get on my back"
he asked her with a smile, pulling off the bag and helping her slip it onto her back. Crouching down a little, shunsui waited until kumko jumped on his back, before throwing her up higher to a more comfortable position. Holding her leg with one arm, he leaned down to pick up the basket again
"hold on " he grinned at her, before flash stepping them away at high speeds. Kumiko gripped him tighter, the wind blowing on her face. It was welcome after the sun had risen, unmercifully beating it's hot rays down on them
Stopping near the edge of a Forrest, shunsui crouched back down to make it easier for Kumiko to climb off. Gently grabbing the bag back off her and flinging it over one shoulder, he smiled at her windswept hair "we can walk from here, I don't want to risk you getting hit by a low branch" he sent her a wink before leading the way
Kumiko was impressed with his stamina, having run at top speeds for that long, with her on his back no less. He didn't even break a sweat she thought amazed.
"it's so pretty here" she said, fingers gently brushing across some leaves on a tree they had walked past, feet following a worn in trail in the dirt below their feet
" wait till you see what's at the end of this path" he grinned at her, excited to get where they were headed.
The sound of falling water grew louder the further they had traveled, giving Kumiko an idea of where they were headed. The trees began thinning out, brightening up the path they followed, until they disappeared all together, surrounding a small grass covered clearing, little white flowers adorned the greenest of grass. A large natural lake sat in front them, rushing water bubbling down a natural rocky cliff creating a water fall.
Kumiko stopped her walking, taking in the beautiful area. Sounds of the babbling water jumping down the rocky formation. Sweet sounds of bird chirping happily in the near by trees
"what do you think?" Shunsui asked her with a wide smile, turning back to face her
"it's amazing". She told him, eyes grazing over every detail "we came here for a picnic?" She asked him. Watching as he laid out a blanket and put the basket on top
"were going to go swimming"