Angsty Dark Ukitake

The clear night air felt good to breathe in, good for his sore throat, his swollen airways and his damaged lungs. He sighed. He had a lot on his mind.

He stared at the stars in the night sky above him, the sky was studded with stars glowing in their heavenly orbs like a thousand diamonds on a sea of blue black ink. He hoped the stars would tell him the answers, but it seemed the whispers of the stars kept being intercepted by the random clouds that drifted by, as if racing across the horizon.

His thoughts drifted to the cursed disease that seemed to hold him back in everything he did. The day he made captain, he smiled slightly at the thought of that day and the days before it, the day he had been accepted at the academy, the day he graduated, passing his first exam to become a seated officer. Each one of those days had felt like a triumph over his disease.

But then he had days like today which brought him crashing back down to earth, back to the realisation that there was no such thing as a 'triumph over his disease', it was just a day when it had chosen not to take over his body. This disease was in his body and it was there to stay, it would be the death of him and he had fully accepted that, what he couldn't accept was the fact that he didn't know when.

Today had started like any other day, he had awoken, he had been served his breakfast at his desk by his two quarrelling third seats, while he had engaged himself in more pressing matters. Namely, paperwork! Around mid-afternoon his life long friend Shunsui Kyoraku had visited him, having finally been able to creep away from the intense watch his fukitaicho had on him. She no doubt would have silently despaired when she found her captain was missing...again. But then when he had been laughing and joking with his comrade his breath had caught in his throat, and then it had begun. Volumes of blood coming up from his lungs, everyone around him running around, taking their time to help him. He hated being a burden.

Sighing he lay back, feeling the lush grass under him tickle the back of his neck and breathing in the smell of the sweet blades.

That was why he came out here, to clear his lungs and his mind. This small hilltop had served him well in the past. He felt a slight tightening of his heart as he remembered that fateful night when he had lost his fukitaicho, Kaien Shiba. He had been a faithful comrade and close friend, a truly terrible loss. He had sat for hours on this hilltop that night, unable to comprehend the tragedy which had befallen him, to this day he had never truly let it go.

Another thought crossed his mind. The upcoming war this winter with Aizen and his army of Espada and Arrancar and all the other hollows of hell. He shook his head, he didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to begin to comprehend the casualties they would suffer, the friends that would be lost. He closed his eyes.

That was one thing that he was thankful to the disease for, at least it would take him away from this life early. He was sure that if Shunsui died before him he would follow shortly after, his heart broken. No, he had to die before Shunsui.

Then he felt something strike his face, he didn't open his eyes, he just felt, as the drop of water slowly slid down his cheek, under his chin and now around the back of his neck.

He opened his eyes now and looked up at the now cloudy sky. The clouds were heavy and the colour of lead. Heavy drops began to fall more frequently and in no time at all an all-out monsoon rain was in progress.

His clothes were wet but Jyuushiro didn't care, it felt as though the water was washing away all his thoughts, it was as if the water was wiping the slate of his mind clean again as well as washing his body. He felt renewed in the downpour.

Lightening streaked across the sky, making him hold his breath in wonderment and when he did let it out he felt the thunder vibrate his ribcage as it rolled across the sky. It's noise like a terrible wave of destruction crashing upon the heavens.

He smiled and sighed contently, closing his eyes once more.

After a few moments it felt as though the rain had stopped, he could no longer feel the drops on his body, but he could hear them, they were still falling and he could smell the rain. He opened his eyes to see the bottom of a pink haori, he looked up further to see the worried face of Shunsui holding an umbrella over his friend.

“You're gonna catch your death out here”

Ukitake stood, his face beaming. He linked arms with the taller man and together they descended the hill.