as years pass | kyoraku shunsui

nineteen - 'rather unfortunate'

There were many things that Ukitake Jushiro did not enjoy, but few brought his heart as much turmoil as seeing Shunsui and Shuriken still at odds. For several months now, Jushiro had been forced to choose which of his two dearest friends he would delegate his time to; more often than not, Jushiro wound up choosing Shunsui.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see Shuriken, he missed her tremendously, but out of the two, Shunsui was certainly more lonely. Shuriken had a boyfriend (and a rather chatty one at that) who she was happy to spend most of her free time with. On top of that, Shuriken had also been busy training her large, handsome protege. Jushiro couldn't blame her for any of that.

Shunsui, on the other hand, didn't have much of a close, personal circle. Shunsui was the kind of man who would talk to (and in the case of women, screw) damn near anyone, but he didn't often allow people to grow close.

That wasn't to say Shuriken was the epitome of popularity either, though. Hell, she wouldn't have even given Urahara a second glance had it not been for Jushiro and Shunsui. Jushiro loved Shuriken immensely, but out of our original trio, Shuriken was by far the least social and approachable. That was something even she would agree with.

Though Jushiro knew of the feelings Shunsui and Shuriken harbored (and had for years) for the other, he couldn't say that Urahara was a bad choice for the navy-haired woman. If nothing else, her attraction to the twelfth captain proved that, indeed, Shuriken had a type.

"I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, Captain Ukitake, but do you care to have a chat with me for a little bit?" Yes, Shuriken's beau had shown up at Jushiro's office before lunch and seemed to have something weighing heavily on his mind. Despite the cheerful grin on Urahara's face, Jushiro noticed that the blond wasn't quite as chipper as usual.

What did she do? Jushiro couldn't help but wonder. Of course Urahara had come to talk to Jushiro about Shuriken, what other reason would he have for visiting him? If it were anything else, Jushiro was sure that Urahara would've gone to Captain Hirako, as the two of them seemed to be friends.

"Not at all! Please, take a seat. What's troubling you, Kisuke? I'll be happy to help in any way I can," Jushiro motioned welcomingly with a wave of his hand, as if he didn't know why Urahara was there.

As Urahara sat down, Jushiro noticed the other man nervously rub his thumb against his index finger. Whatever it was that Shuriken had done or said, it was obviously tormenting the poor guy.

"Well, I guess it'd be better if I just got to the point instead of wasting more of your time than I have to, huh?" In the privacy of Jushiro's office, he watched Urahara's usual facade fade away to show a man who was utterly unsure of himself. Ah, yes, today would certainly be a doozy. "There are two men in this world who know Shuri far better than I do, and that's you and Shunsui. My question is, how do they really feel about each other, Jushiro? What's their personal history? I've asked Shuri about it before but as you're surely aware, he's a bit of a sore subject for her at the moment."

Shit, why me? Jushiro knew that it was inevitable that he be roped even further into the drama surrounding his dearest companions, but to have Urahara asking him flat-out about Shuriken and Shunsui was tough. It wasn't Jushiro's place to meddle in his friends affairs but he also found it rude to leave Urahara completely in the dark. A part of Jushiro hoped that, by sharing information with Urahara, they would be one step closer to reuniting Shunsui and Shuriken.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Kisuke, since honesty is what you deserve on this subject. As much as I hate to delve into their business, I think this is something you should know considering how close you and Shuriken have become," Jushiro said. He eyed Urahara in an attempt to read him, only to find that it seemed the other male's breath was stuck in his throat.