The sun took a long course, drifting across and through the partly cloudy sky. It has been a fairly warm day, but thankfully this district is lush with trees that provide bountiful spots of shade to rest in. About fifty or so feet down from a beautiful waterfall there is a large, picturesque lake with a small run off cascaded with boulders, allowing partial flow to freely flow out, down a small hill and into a river. The run-off, while narrow, is generous enough in size to provide support for a small group of salmon to flop up and through. On the large boulder of this run-off stands Brain, holding what seems to be the lesser part of a tree branch. It was hefty in weighty, but thin in size. As the sun casts down a constant heat, Brain bears with it with great patience, focusing sharply on the entrance gap. Each time there is any sign of something larger than a droplet of water springing into the air, the man strikes heftily with the wood, grunting in mild strain, "Huu!"

Two times out of five, the man was successful. But because he is attempting to bat the fish out of the water, and onto dry land, it took more than just a successful hit. His two strikes send each of the two fish in completely different directions. One goes directly skyward, and the second goes in the direct opposite path of the land, flying over into the lake as it intended to. Before getting to attempt once again and while he curses under his breath, that one salmon comes crashing down into the water behind him, causing for him to three-sixty quickly in a startled manner, nearly losing his footing in the process. But with luck, he manages to sloppily recover and notice the ending rippling effect in the water from where the salmon had landed. He sneers, "Stupid fish."

SPOILER: Click to show

Setting
Summer, early afternoon

Heat. The heat bore upon the man. Even in this heat, he refused to shed his cloak. Cloaks were useful. One would never know when one would need it. To hide behind. To hide from people. To hide from the direct burning rays of the sun. To tie to carry things. To use as an impromptu hammock. Or maybe just a blanket. Of course, that would explain why the cloak was rather well worn, faded by sun such as this, ingrown with centuries of dirt, dust and sweat. It still served Yoshiya well, though.

Shade. Shade was good. Cool did not irritate the man as much as heat did. It was good the banks were so well covered.

He'd been working hard in the fields these past days, and, in his mind and pocket, he could afford to take a day off. Proverbial pocket, of course. He hadn't brought his gold with him. In one of his belt pockets though was a small cat. A cat he had brought out on a fishing expedition. She could smell the salmon in the air, and her anticipation was palpable.

Sadly though, there was another man at this spot. He'd have to ask if he could join him. If permission was denied, then Yoshiya would have to move on. It wasn't worth fighting over. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"'hoy there! Mind if I fish here too?"

Now this is interesting.

Normally this place was low in traffic, a patch of paradise separated into peaceful seclusion. But no, here was the first person to pass during Brain's visit in the last two, maybe three years. He looks to Yoshiya with surprise hinted in his features. Brain examines the newcomer, breaking him down with a brief assumption. He could be anyone, well not really. Not with that clothing. Yoshiya bore similar, dirty clothing to Brain. However aside from the dirt, the both of them wore different styles of clothing. Could he too be living life in the wild? Or perhaps his was one of those peasants from the 4th he's heard about? Either way, Yoshiya didn't appear to be of hostile nature and Brain was a good judge of character, but because the spot lacked room for two to fish in unison, he declines partially, "This is not my land to deny you the right to fish, but if you are asking if I mind, I do and I ask that you wait your turn."

Brain nods at Yoshiya immediately after having given his retort and goes back to work. He manages to get back into the groove immediately, repairing his broken stance and rebuilding his focus. As he gets into stance, about a minute later, he begins to slouch with a sweat breaking down the side of his face. The salmon were coming at a not so steady pace and because of that it made it all the harder. When the next one finally pops out of the water, Brain thrusts the stick in a harsh jerking manner, successfully striking the fish. And towards the land too!

On the inside Brain was shouting with an overwhelming joy, he got one, finally. But wait, before he gave in and caved on concealing this joy, he notices that this fish's trajectory was set on a not so great one. In the arch of it's ascent the fish comes flopping downward onto Yoshiya's exact spot, threatening to wet and smear it's smell fishy odor all over him.

"Nuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" mentally cries the tuna projectile.

...or it would have, had he been there. For Brain's request for him to wait gave Yoshiya three options. He could have forced his way in, which would have been rude, especially as Brain had been polite in doing so. Yoshiya could have waited, but he had no idea how long Brain would have been. Or he could have left and found another spot further downstream.

Indeed, after Brain spoke, Yoshiya replied, "All-right then, sorry for disturbing you" and had left on his merry way. Yet with Brain immediately going back into focus, it was doubtful as to whether he had heard Yoshiya.

[EXIT]

Luckily for Brain, the man had moved away from where he had previous approached from and thus the fish lands with sparking a quarrel. Brain rushes over to the flopping fish, snatching it up quickly before it had time to return to water. As he holds the fish up and gives it a look over, he notices that man in the distance. Yoshiya, while having gained some distance, was still within shouting range and so Brain gives a loud holler, "Oi, stranger!" Then if Yoshiya had turn around within the appropriate response time, Brain would wiggle his fish slightly while pointing over to the fishing spot Yoshiya had inquired about, "She's all your's!" Afterwards Brain would, much like he would if Yoshiya did not turn around, go on about cooking up the fish. Brain spent the morning gathering supplies for the week and already had the necessary requirements to cook the fish, sticks and stones, so all that was left was preperations.

First Brain drops the fish to the ground and puts a heavy rock atop it, then he takes the large stick he used to fish with and begins to carve out a hole in the ground, setting up about fifteen meters out from the river itself. Because the land is so close to a water source and because it hardly has people traversing across, the dirt was soft and easy dig into. After a few good carvings, a loud crock in the stick is heard and so he makes mends to the hole and carves the small slop into a makeshift pit. While doing this his stick ultimately gives in with another loud crack, splitting at the base. Brain sighs softly while discarding the stick, he then kneels over and grasps one of the rocks he had to create a barrier around the pit withand he begins to roughly pound and knead the dirt until the surface was smooth and evenly dipped. Brain then sets the rocks up neatly along the edges of the pit before setting in the gathered twigs and stalks of wood. Once having completely set-up the arrangement, he takes two pole like pieces of wood out from his cloak, each one was roughly thirteen inches in size. He begins to work the two woods against each other until the friction built begins to smoke and finally create a small cherry of fire. Brain begins to baby the fire, nurturing it until it was a full fledged flame.

At which point he would introduce it to the pile of wood. While the fire begins to grow, he goes to fetch the fish. Lifting the rock up from it's tiny body to notice it was now dead, or at the very least drained of it's energy. Brain swiftly reaches up to the temple of his glasses and withdraws from it's sheathe his zanpakuto. With only one of the blades, he dices the fish up, removing all the inedible parts. With the fish now butchered into a nice cut of fish, he rises from his crouched over position and looks around for a decent stick to cook with.

Upon noticing a fairly sharp fragment of a branch protruding from some bushes, he wanders over and retrieves it quickly while sheathing his zanny. As he wanders back to his set-up, he jabs the fish with the tip of the stick, digging in deep enough to retain leverage. Brain did not stop at the fire once having picked the fish up, instead he heads over to the stream and rinses the fish of it's dirt with a quick dunk. After cleansing the fish, he returns and drops into a sitting position, crossing his feet and extending the meal over and into raging fire.

[unexit]

Yoshiya heard the man's call and turned, to see him with a fish, offering it to Yoshiya.

"Nah mate, you're too kind, but you keep that one. Although I do have a proposal. If you don't mind me saying so, you don't appear to be having too much luck fishing with that stick. That being said, you appear to be a decent cook."

With that he held up his staff. One end took the shape of a pan, the other grew several spikes.

"I believe this should mean that I would be more adept at catching fish than you with that stick. How about I catch the fish and you cook them? Then us two and my cat can share the proceeds. 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his need' and all that."

During the first summer of his sojourn in the wild Brain learned how to start fires, build camps and hunt animals. Each of these skills had their own faults, but it was indeed his uncanny skill to prepare a fire and then meal that Yoshiya caught onto. Brain just shrugs at the offer, at first that is. Then he looks at the one fish he caught over the last two, maybe even three damn hours. The man sighs softly and reluctantly accepts the offer, ultimately welcoming unwanted company, "That is a most fair offer -- You and your feline companion are welcome to join me, but that'll be two fish if your catch is good, one if it isn't." As Brain was talking his gaze was not matching with Yoshiya's but instead they were leveled at his cat. It was a while since he saw a cat, having basically been living under a rock the past few years. He saw a couple dogs last spring, but a cat, must've been since his days in the Seireitei. Before the man averts his gaze, he mumbles something along the lines of, "Nice cat."

While Brain retains his lifeless stare into the fire, it's within his mind that a vivid portrait of verbal slur was being painted, "This man... why did I invite him back? I should have fucking told him the truth, that I was offering the fishing spot, not my fish itself. Maybe then I wouldn't have been offered his company. And nice cat. Nice cat. Really? Nice cat. I'm an idiot." While he stews in his trivial drama, the fish begins to crisp and burn at the edges. But because the fire was still smoking itself, it goes unnoticed. Or so it seems. "I should just leave, and let him use the fire. I don't more than one fish. This-" And just as he talks about the fish, he begins to notice, through the wavering flames, that he was burning his meal. He yanks it from the fire quickly and examines the burned areas. Luckily the areas burned were mostly around the edges while the center remains golden brown, centered with a perfect cook.

Brain glances over his shoulder as his fish cools, trying to get a beat on Yoshiya.

Aye, it was a shame that Yoshiya had his back turned when Brain had been gesturing. Either that or clarification from Brain would have helped, he didn't realise he needed but one fish.

He did raise an eye when Brain said "Nice cat." Yggdrasil should have been hidden in his pouch. Yoshiya looked down to see a face peeking out of the pouch.

"Get back in, you," he said, giving Yggdrasil a friendly poke to have her withdraw back into her carriage, before wandering off to the river, watching, waiting for the chance to stab a salmon.[/color]".

Brain returns his gaze and goes back to his own business, for the moment that is. He basks in the brief seclusion, eyes glued to the fire as he takes nibble-like bites off the sides of the fish. Was Yoshiya yet another one of these people, was this interaction going to happen whether Brain wanted it to or not? The thought of having some sort of unbreakable magnetism toward other human beings was beyond preposterous, but time and time again he would be put in these sort of situations where he's forced into conversing, or lying to get out of conversing. Brain loved a good lie, but at the same time he could match it with the same level of regret later on down the road. Although good, he prefers to stray from spinning a web of lies. But at the same time, he was neither blunt nor direct. He had to ease out of this naturally, like always. Brain takes a few more good bites out of the fish before he finally starts to reach the bone and when does reach the pearly white, hard center, he starts picking the rest of the meat off. He sets the leftovers on a rock near the fire to keep warm. He planned on feeding them to Yoshiya's cat should the chance arise.

After plucking the bone clean he discards the skeleton into the river and wanders off momentarily to fetch a bit more wood to keep the fire from dying out. He didn't know how long Yoshiya would take gathering fish but after this bit of fuel was accumulated and burned through, Brain would be on his way. Extra fish or not.

The right tool is needed for the job. Even though they both handled their weapons with respective skill, the spikes on Yoshiya's rake allowed him to impale the fish on his weapon, compared to the smoother surface of the branch.

Furthermore, Yoshiya used his staff every day, Brain was more adept with his Zanpakutō, of course, but he was new to using a branch.

That is why, when Brain returned with his extra firewood Yoshiya was sitting, warming himself by the fire, a small cat curled in his lap, four salmon sat beside him.

While away and collecting a few thick twigs for the fire, he sees another sharp stick and the thought that it could be useful to Yoshiya crosses his mind. So on his way back, he kneels over and scoops the stick up, knowing that if the man doesn't have any use for it Brain would be able to break it up and use it as firewood instead. Brain comes into view a few feet off the dirt road, maneuvering between the bushes with a thicket of gathered wood in his hands. He looks around briefly before gazing over to the fire, noticing Yoshiya was already sitting near. "Well, here goes nothing." he sighs softly to himself before heading over to the makeshift settlement. Upon arriving, he drops the gathered wood at the fire's side before he himself too drops to the ground. Brain takes the same position as before and he begins to immediately feed the dying flame. Luckily for them there was a nice wind passing through the area, the soft gusts aiding in the preservation of their source of heat.

As Brain tends to the fire, he speaks up shortly in offering, "Oh, if you don't have anything to cook with, you might like to use this here disposable utensil." The man takes the stick and tosses it over onto the ground, within a generous reach of Yoshiya. Afterwards Brain takes notice to the man's catch, a hint of envy mixed with a tid-bit of jealously swelled in his eyes, the pupils of which were grinding into the corners of their sockets. 1. 2. 3. 4. Brain had to admit that Yoshiya was fairly skilled at catching fish. His haul was no good one, but at best it was fair. So if offered two, he would decline and request one so that the three could eat semi-equally.

Yoshiya looked blankly at Brain.

"I thought you were doing the cooking. "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.""

He sighed, and snapped the stick in two, placing them both wedged under rocks, pointing towards the fire. He then slid a fish onto each of them, like one would slide a sock onto their foot.

The other two fish he placed on his shovel and held it over the fire.

"At least I get use of the fire," he thought to himself.

"Heh," He smirks softly while glancing over at Yoshiya, "Indeed, that is the deal." Of course while Brain had no problem honoring their deal, this didn't mean he would not try bending the agreement to his favor. Alas, Yoshiya was still keen on the terms of their deal and so without another attempt, Brain drops his resistance before it would be noticed. He goes on to unwedge the wedge sticks while at the same time saying, "A deal's a deal." Now, while Brain was simply living up to their agreement, it totally sounded, for a brief second, like this man just up and claimed the two fish for himself. That is until he follows up with, "It's better to give them rotation when there is no surface between them and the fire."

"So -.. normally I don't take company up with strangers, and normally strangers are anyone that I do not know the name of..- So to you, stranger, I ask the name of."

Yoshiya looked to the man.

"I have no qualms with remaining strangers, but if you insist, the name's Watson. Y, Watson. Ex Third Division" He laughed at adding his old job. It had been so long ago.

"And you are?" He stared intently as he asked, the man would have to respond in kind, or Yoshiya would become paranoid. The shovel was pointed at Brain, data was worth the loss of two fish.

"I am..- I am.. well-" Brain pauses and looks away from already having been looking away from Yoshiya. After a few seconds he repositions his gaze back toward the fish he was cooking, "- Mr. Watson, I am an ex-resident of the Seireitei and my birthname is Greinz, though for reasons I will not go into at the moment, I do not prefer it and would prefer to be called Brain." Normally Brain has a set of fake names he goes by when asked by a stranger, however because this particular individual was claiming to be ex-Shinigami, he felt some sort of minuscule respect toward the man. Like he does for his other fellow brethren. However it's the ex part that starts gnaw at his curiosity. He knew that many a Shinigami would leave the Seireitei on their on their own accord. Brains waits a decent few minutes before asking Yoshiya, letting the fish finish up it's rotation through the flames, "So.. uhh, you said Ex Third Division? If you don't mind me prying, why are you a former member?"

[bgcolor=555555]

"It's hot," a young blond male wearing the standard uniform of the Gotei whined as he walked through the trees, following a worn footpath with obvious uncertain steps. The small green insignia on his chest marked him as a member of the Third Division if one couldn't tell by the ink splattered over his hands which clutched rolled scrolls of parchment. He stumbled over an upraised root as he complained, causing his light burden to spill out over the ground.

"Be careful," Sumie gently chided her young companion as she turned back to help him. Unlike the boy, she navigated the trail like someone who had walked it many times before and she had. The Fukutaicho knelt by the unseated member to help him pick up the scrolls then handed them all back to him as he regained his limited composure. His blue eyes reflected more of the light which filtered down in between the sparse openings of the forest canopy because had had started to cry, or at least gotten to the part of his eyes welling up.

Sumie sighed then ruffled his hair. "Why don't you go find a cool spot and rest. I need to scout ahead to find the new branch of the path that the miners have made so we can add it to our maps. Then when I come back, you can mark where the trail diverges to the new area and we'll set up camp for the day." The boy had talent for drawing so Sumie had taken him under her wing to help him advance his skill. He wasn't inclined to photographic memory, but observation and artistic level could be trained which was why Sumie had started bringing him on her excursions to the Rukongai to make sure the Gotei's maps were kept current.

The boy pouted about being left alone and Sumie sighed again. If she had known what a pansy he was, she might have thought differently about trying to train him, but he wouldn't last long in the Third Division if he didn't toughen up. One messy encounter with Kurisuna would probably land him cloistered in the Second Division's mental ward for life as it was. "It'll be okay. I promise," Sumie said and smiled reassuringly. "I wont be gone long."

He seemed to weigh being comfortable against being left alone in the woods for a short period of time and eventually found it acceptable. "Alright," he conceded then padded off to a grass alcove formed by thick trees. Sumie's gaze swept through the area once and she knew she'd be able to find her way back to his relatively hidden location with little difficulty so she resumed her own course.

Though her footing was sure as she wound her way along the trail still known to her, Sumie didn't bother to go about it with any amount of grace. Her frame grazed against the natural elements of the forest and she stepped on many a twig. She was far from sounding like a wild animal thrashing about though. Eventually she did break clear of the growth to a clearing on a small grassy covered overhang. She stood on the dwarf cliff with the sun bearing down upon her so she could get a good look at the lay of the land.

"It is hot," Sumie muttered to herself, repeating the boy's earlier complaint now that she had the full force of the sun upon her. To ease her discomfort, Sumie pulled her sleeves free from her arms only to tie them in a knot directly below below her bust which was covered in a swath of white bandages, leaving only her shoulders and arms uncovered. Still, it was an improvement, though the heat had made her aware of a thirst in the back of her throat.

Part of her training with the boy involved making use of their surroundings so they had not packed any survival gear, though Sumie did have her zanpakutou, who's hilt now pressed directly against the skin of her shoulder blades just above where the binding started. She scanned the area below in search of the telltale glinting of water reflecting the sun and eventually found it as well as smoke unfurling into the air. Someone else was there.

That wasn't surprising giving that miners, loggers, and fisherman frequented the area, so the concept was not off-putting to Sumie. It was also unlikely (though not impossible) that there was the threat of Hollows in the area. At least not if the Fifth Division was doing their job correctly. So Sumie identified which part of the path would lead her to the pool of water she had seen at a distance and began to make her way toward it with the same level of unconcern about how much noise she was making. People didn't like to be sneaked up on anyways.

The old man leant back, observing the fish cooking on the fire.

"You want to be called Brain? Fair enough. But before we get into why I left, do you think the fish is cooked yet?" They were there to eat, after all, not too chat.

"To put it succinctly, Brain, I overdid myself. As such, I need to take things easy, otherwise I become rather ill, both physically and mentally. Not to say the later is stable on a normal day." He tilted his head to the side as he said that last line, pondering his own existence. "That being said, I did leave my resignation notice in then left immediately afterwards, before it was accepted or before they had even read it. Even though it's been centuries, I am still paranoid of being found." He sighed, gazing wistfully into the flames. It was a miracle he hadn't been sighted in all these years. They probably didn't care. He knew that, he just couldn't stop being so jumpy.

He turned and looked at his host.

"So, why did you leave the white city?

One of two salmon that Brain was cooking had been cooked to a perfect, dark golden crisp at the time Yoshiya made his inquiry. Promptly Brain wedges the free end of the stick into the ground while saying, "It's cooked alright, but if you fancy that there tongue in your mouth, yeh best wait 'till it cools off." Once Yoshiya would begin to unravel his short story the other fish Brain was holding began to crisp and so he pulls it from the fire and wedges it beside the other stick. Brain couldn't make much of the man's explanation and because it was more trivial than of importance, he simply shrugs it off and sighs. All he could think about now was when the damn fish would cool off so he could grab it and get up out of here. "Wait.. why would he be paranoid? Did he break a law? I knew allowing this interaction to proceed would be regretted; the guy obvious isn't telling me something. I either pry further or leave.." At the time of his thought, he overheard Yoshiya's question but because he was dwelling in thought, that was put on the back-burner. After a few minutes passes, Brain would speak up and say, "Although it is my birthplace, I find it hard to call home. I'm sorry if my answer is vague but there are just some things a person doesn't talk about."

By this time, having not set-up the fire in the shade was taking it's toll. Because the general area was already hot, the fire they were near made it almost twice as hotter. "Why..- Why.. am I sweating? I should move to the shade.." A large ball of sweat curls down the side of his head while a light screen of perspiration coats his face. The combination of this heat and having to participate in an unwanted conversation was excruciating. "I really should just get up.." Brain begins getting so nervous, he just wants to crawl right out of his skin. Then, all of a sudden, a building distortion that only he hears rings in his ears and the already wavering fire begins to waver at thrice the length and speed. He even saw three Yoshiya! "Oh man, another panic attack." He was feeling as if the entire outdoor area was slowly closing in on him so before this attack could climax and reach the apex of it's intent, he shoots upwards and bolts for the river, stumbling and falling at about the better half of midway toward the water source. As he lays there he feels the air to his lungs being cut off, as if he was being drowned. "This is what you get." He gasps for air like a mime, struggling to reach the water. He was almost there when yet again another symptom kicks in, an overwhelming crushing sensation of the chest ushers inward and luckily it causes him to gasp sharp enough to take in a bit of air. With the bit of air gathered he lugs forward in a decent hurl, landing him near water's edge. He dunks his head and hands into the water, the cooling sensation washing over him a thousand times over.

Only just a few seconds later of having dunked his head in are a numerous amount of air bubbles seen protruding off the water's surface. Another few seconds after that and Brain would pull himself out to gasp for air.

[bgcolor=555555]

The trail that led downward was clean and visible enough, but it twisted and turned frequently, and occasionally at odd angles, to compensate for the natural environment where large rocks were set into earth and ancient trees beyond normal means of cutting stood tall and proud, but with a mess of thick roots and heavy branches bent low to the ground. It made the journey twice as long as simply going from point A to point B in a straight line, if not more, but the path had led Sumie out of the direct sunlight.

She stopped only once to tighten her Fukutaichou's badge upon her limp sleeve when it tangled with an outstretched tree limb, but her pause was long enough to for Sumie to register how oppressive and stale the heat was when it was contained in such a dense area. Sweat faintly glimmered in the dull light as it formed little beads along her exposed skin, especially about her brow. Sumie wiped it away futilely with the back of her right hand. She knew it would thin out up ahead and there might be a chance of a refreshing breeze, so the woman marched onward, silent except for her breathing, steps, and run-ins with the flora.

Yoshiya watched the man as he talked, waiting for the salmon to cool. Alas, that was not to be, for Brain then ran off to the river. Yoshiya stared for a moment, then gave pursuit, setting down his pole out of the fire.

"Brain!? Brain!? Are you ok!? Brain?!"

He watches as Brain nearly suffocates in the river. He could not assist further, but assistance was needed, he would have to attract others.

Yoshiya focused his reiatsu and released it heavenward, his hell butterfly flare resounding the same message over the immediate area.

"ANYONE WITH MEDICAL EXPERTISE IN THE AREA?! I HAVE SOMEONE HERE NEEDING HELP!"

As per design, it echoed thrice.

Hopefully someone would be able to help. Hopefully.

The water he felt brought him at bay, easing the tension being strung so tightly in his chest. With the pain having mostly subsided, he is able to breathe again, but his pace was no normal one. Instead, as Brain struggles to get up, these heavy weezing sounds emit from him. He honestly did look like he could die at any moment, just keel over like the old man he looked to be. However it was within him to fight, a great amount of endurance that caused him to prevail and last through the torturing pain, to see yet another day. When upon his own two feet, he staggers slowly toward the nearest shade, completely oblivious to his general surroundings. "Hnnggg.." he groans.

Sumie had yet to clear the dense overhang of trees when the call for help first sounded. It was faint, but she could just make out the words given that there weren't exactly any other loud noises occurring in the area at the moment. Despite having no medical expertise to speak of, Sumie sped up, trying to get into the clear where she might be able to better find out where the call was coming from.

When the announcement came again with the exact same words and tone, though louder now, Sumie realized that it was likely produced by the flare that Rukon Citizen's occasionally used. The trees prevented her from seeing where the flare hung in the air, at least until Sumie finally broke free of the cluster of trees just as the last cry came. The path had finally opened up into enough of a clearing that she could see the glow of the flare. Her eyes shifted from where it was in the sky to the treeline, trying to determine how far she still had to go and which direction would be best to approach it from as the trail she had been following did not head toward that area.

It took her a couple of minutes to calculate the location, but as soon as she did, Sumie was off. She moved as quickly as she could without actually running. Fast though Sumie had always been, she wasn't willing to risk personal injury by rushing recklessly through an area without a trail. If she got hurt, she wouldn't be able to help and unlike the one who had sent out the flare, Sumie didn't have such an ability to mark her location if she was down. She also highly doubted the likelihood of her companion coming to find her.

"Great, where is he going!"

Yoshiya watched Brain wander away. Keeping an eye on the sick man, the healthy one ran to the fire to collect his belongings, placing Yggdrasil in her usual spot with a fish, the other three in his left hip pocket.

"Should be safe to keep the fire burning, it's well away from the forest."

He lifted up his staff, the metal becoming smooth and a mere pole again, then hurried after Brain, trailing the end of the staff in the dirt, so any who came to his prior position had a trail to follow.

The seemingly dying man would arrive at the shade about a minute after he leaves the water's edge and at about the same time Yoshiya was collecting his belongings. Brains shifts around once arriving at the tree that was casting over the ground a thick shade. He leans back until pressed against the tree and then once against it, he slides down the bark until his rear was planted in the ground. As Brain attempts to steady his breathing, his vision slowly begins to refocus. About fifteen feet out from where he now is, leaving the fire is the trio of Yoshiya and as he watches the three walk directly toward him, something odd would happen. The closer Yoshiya would get, the more focused Brain's vision would become. With each step it's like the three of them were merging together into one real Yoshiya. At the time Yoshiya arrives, Brain would be with his vision regained. As he wheezes this sharp pain abruptly rises in his throat, causing him to cough hoarsely which in turn causes him to clench his chest in pain, "Ugghhh!"

Because he has had these sort of strokes before, he knew that if it could be prevented before full execution, than there would be no need for medical attention, just rest. However he also knew that Yoshiya may be worried, especially since he was still around and didn't just take off so Brain manages to fit in a few words between his heavy wheezing, "You need to keep it down.. More attention results in more anxiety.." He tried not to sound like a prick, but it was pretty hard not to when denying help he so obviously needed, but would only ever accept reluctantly.

Brain was in it for the long haul, he's prevailed before, and he'll do it again.

[bgcolor=555555]

Sumie navigated her way across the unmarked terrain at a good clip. The area where the flare had been was in the same vicinity as the smoke billowing up even higher into the sky, so it was used as a tracking device for Sumie in not only a visual manner as she lost her line of sight with the original focal point, but also the scent which contrasted greatly from the earthy smells of the surroundings. Soon enough the woman was close enough to hear the sound of water flowing, cascading even.

The source was evident rather quickly as Sumie found herself standing across from a small waterfall which joined with what appeared to be more of a stream than a river. A fire blazed not far from it and a shallow groove in the ground marked a short trail from the water's edge farther to another treeline, though the wet footprints and pools of mud were more than enough of a trail for Sumie to follow. She thought she heard talking too, but it was always possible it was wind catching the tops of the trees higher up. Regardless, she walked toward the impressions set in the earth and called out, "Hello?" Her voice was steady, though a little short of breath from having hurried.

So...leave him be. That was logical. He bowed and walked backwards into the sun. Yoshiya left the thicket in time to hear a voice calling a greeting. He walked further out and turned to see the feminine voice.

The colour drained from his cheeks. HER. He span round, his robed back to his former Fukutaichō. He could not allow himself to be recognised.

"Of all the rotten luck..."

He would have to say something. But... what if she recognised his voice... He spoke lower than he did usually. Loud, and with authority, so he would still be audible, despite having his back to the one being addressed.

"The afflicted lies over there."

He pointed in the direction where Brain lay.

"He has requested peace for him to recuperate. Thank-you for responding so promptly to my flare. I apologise for any inconvenience I have caused you."

With that, Yoshiya began to walk away, headed upstream, praying that Sumie did not press him for any further information. Given his memories of the lady, it seemed unlikely.

Brains shakes his head as Yoshiya departs, "Fool."

He was speaking of course to Yoshiya, because the man so obviously misunderstood. But honestly, Brain couldn't blame him. Not only was it not Yoshiya's burden to bear, but the way his request was worded it could have been easily mistaken as what it was. A soft, faint voice is heard not to far from them and it causes for Yoshiya to halt in his exit. He stopped, dead in his tracks, it was sort of odd to Brain and it made him wonder for a few seconds before Yoshiya called out to the feminine voice. Once he had informed her, the man strode off and Brain did not bother to stop him. While it was true that before this unfortunate attack took it's toll, he was wanting to withdraw from company but because of his now borderline condition, it was most unwise to be left alone. Unguarded. All he was saying was that he didn't want more people to show up and now he was left in the hands of some stranger. Could be a thief for all he knows, but with limited movement all he would be able to do is greet the newcomer and hope like hell she was friendly or at the very least neutral.

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It wasn't to be so easy for Yoshiya to disappear. Sumie had trouble with names for she had many to remember, but she never forgot a face, or an entire appearance and the way people moved for that matter. "Wait," Sumie said, curiosity and slight traces of confusion coloring her tone, but no anger or surprise as she continued, "What are you doing out here?"

Sumie knew he was of her division, but she did not know that it was he who had disappeared with nary a word, just a letter many a year ago. At least she hadn't connected his face to the case file or remembered his name yet, but Sumie did know the task list for everyone in the division as she was responsible for writing it out and there was no one scheduled to be out in the Rukongai aside from herself and the boy she had brought along.

There was a nagging feeling that she hadn't seen this man for a long time, but with the workload she had, it wasn't too surprising and Sumie tried to suppress the matter at least for now because she had remembered her reason for coming this far. "And what happened here?" Yoshiya obviously wasn't wet, so he had not been the cause of the water slopped along the path she had followed. The more she thought about that the odder it seemed. Especially as she connected the voice of the flare to Yoshiya and the fact he carried a staff, but not a bladed weapon typical of a Shinigami. Even when off duty, most carried theirs with them. Small furrows formed along Sumie's brow as she stared at the figure, retreating or not. Something felt off.

Zane had been walking rather slowly through the second district, the ever-growing heat pounding his body with each passing second. Damn was it a scorcher today! Why the hell was it so hot today of all days? Thoughts of this nature were the only thing that accompanied the man on his walk. It would be such a shame to actually have to cease walking around because of the weather and man did Zane enjoy his walks. He smiled gently at the Rukon children he passed who seemed to be enjoying themselves regardless of the fact that it was way too hot for any normal person to be outside.

Long minutes of walking brought Zane to a forested area that seemed to be somewhat frequented by the sight of the trails that weaved their way through. Zane shrugged it off for the time being and continued to walk, but stopped a few feet short of the trail's entrance. Perhaps this could be an all new adventure for him, a place he'd never explored to date! That could be fun, no? Zane grinned and turned back to the trail, making his way into the thick wooded area. The scenery held by the place was lovely all it's own, the trees, the plants, the small wildlife that lived there. The harmony of nature at it's finest.

Zane turned his head as he came by a tree that seemed just a bit taller than the others around it, his mind beginning to work in a strange way. Zane walked over to the trunk of the tree and tapped the knuckle of his index finger against it before giving off a light shrug. He took a few steps back and ran toward the tree, planting his foot against the trunk and using the momentum to jump toward the lowest branch, which seemed reachable to the man. In his mind, Zane had already achieved success at the task he was attempting, but he failed greatly, crashing a good eight feet back to the ground, his head smacking off the ground. "Ouch. I thought I had that.", He groaned aloud as he rubbed his head. Not like anyone could actually hear him complaining about his faults. Zane, not one to obviously learn from getting hurt the first time, rose to his feet and brushed himself off before stepping away from the tree to try it once more. This time, however, Zane stepped a few feet further back.

He ran toward the tree and leaped, planting a foot on the trunk and pushing himself up to the branch, this time finding success in his endeavor! Zane grabbed the branch with his other hand and used his efforts to pull himself up onto the branch, "Yes!", He yelled out in excitement which, much to his own dismay, echoed throughout the wooded area. How embarrassing that would be to have to explain to anyone that asked about it. Zane's bout of excitement was suddenly shot down when he noticed a flare in the noticeable distance of where he was. Strange that he could actually even see it given the area he was at. He shrugged and dropped out of the tree to go investigate the source.

The trail that had brought him to the tree served as a good guide toward the source of the flare for awhile, but after so long, Zane noticed he'd have to travel through the wooded area blinded, to some degree. He shrugged it off and began to manage his way through the thicket of plants that had grown throughout the area and blocking his path, slowing him greatly. After a very very very long time of walking through plants and some fallen trees, Zane made it to a clearing that showed a rather nice looking waterfall and a stream at it's base. Zane's gaze moved back and forth until he noticed the location of the flare and.. someone standing there. Who was it and, better yet, why were they there? Wait. Stupid question. Obviously they were here because they noticed the flare and came to investigate the problem themselves. Zane jogged to catch up with Sumie who, from a distance, he couldn't determine was actually a female or male and wouldn't have recognized her anyway, "Heeeeeey! What's going on?!", He called out to her.

"Drat."

A bead of sweat formed on Yoshiya's brow, he was in trouble.

Sumie spoke with an air of familiarity. She knew Yoshiya, but she spoke with uncertainty. Perhaps she didn't know it was Yoshiya. He would have to answer her.

"If you are asking for a report, Shinigami, I came down here to fish. Upon my arrival I found the subject already here. He wasn't having much success, so we came to an arrangement. I would catch fish, he would cook them. During lunch," Yoshiya gestured towards the fire, "the subject became gravely ill and staggered towards the river. It was then that I launched the flare. After that he moved into the shade." Yoshiya turned to look at Brain, though his face was still hidden from Sumie by his hood.

"Do you have any other questions, Shinigami?"

Another voice came from behind him.

"Drat. Another."

Things were getting worse by the moment. He clung to his staff, seeking it for strength. Would he get out of this one without being caught?