M:S - Day One: The Arrival

*This is the SECOND gensei trip after the another hug your fukutaicho event, written by Kismet, it holds no overlap with "Mint : Shinigami" manga.


Gensei Camping Trip 2009- Day One: The Arrival

“Does anyone actually know where we’re going?!” came Renji’s voice, clearly annoyed. The group of fukutaichos, taichos, sansekis and a yonseki were milling around aimlessly in front of Auckland Airport trying to locate their caravans. Barely an hour ago they had stepped through the connecting senkai gate, found their gigais and tried to blend in with the crowds of tourists. This was proving difficult due to Ukitake’s white hair, Renji’s bright red hair and tattoos, Raiden’s blue hair and amber eyes and Shuuhei’s tattoos and very spiky hair. Nanao pushed up her glasses and sighed hard as Jai pulled Nat out of the way of some German tourists who were gawping at them.
“We will find them eventually. Kyoraku-taicho has just gone to look.” She ended with a look that clearly showed her thoughts on his chances of success. Mint and Di had parked themselves and their luggage on the kerb. Di put her face in her hands and sighed melodramatically.
“I’m so bored of waiting. The scenery’s gorgeous though. I can’t actually believe that I finally made it to New Zealand.” Mint grinned ecstatically, delighted to be on the five day camping trip.
Especially with you, Jyuushirou-san. She thought, flushing a little. Ukitake, leaning on his luggage, caught her eyes and smiled gently as if reading her thoughts.  Mint smiled back, her heart melting.
My god...he’s even gorgeous in his gigai! Di caught her dreamy smile and grinned.
“Aww...too cute.”
“Oh shush!” Mint said, flushing.
Taicho. I hope this trip brings us closer together.
  Di continued grinning, shaking her head at her friend’s complete ignorance of everything else around her. Ukitake surveyed the scenery as Kira, Shuuhei and Matsumoto came back with grins on their faces, bottles of Duty Free wine clutched in their hands. Isane gave a surprised squeak.
“Oh my goodness, Rangiku-san! You can’t possibly be thinking of drinking all of that now!” Matsumoto laughed mischievously.
“Ahhh! Lighten up Isane! We’re on holiday! Besides it’s Western wine...we haven’t tried that yet!”  
“It’s very beautiful out here isn’t it Mint?” Mint looked beside her as Ukitake sat down next to her. “You did say that New Zealand was a spectacular looking country.” He smiled at her and took her hand in his.
“I also said that it was one of the most romantic countries in the world...scenery-wise.” Mint ventured. They gazed at each other for a long while, neither wanting to break the moment.
  Di tactfully got up. I’ll stretch my legs. Nat and Jai were ogling Mint and Ukitake mercilessly. Di kicked Nat’s shoe to get his attention.
“Oi. Snoopers. Clear out yeah? This is a trip- you’re not gonna take any compromising pictures...right?” Jai grinned at her innocently.
“Why would we?” Di sweat-dropped.
They clearly are.
She felt arms around her and then Raiden whispered in her ear, “Sheesh. We’ve only just got here and glasses and jiijii-taicho are being all mushy.”
“Hush up. Remember what you promised!” Di replied sternly. She could feel Raiden grinning.
“Sure thing babe. It’s Mint and Ukitake-taicho from now on...unless I forget.” Di hissed.
“You wouldn’t-!” Raiden laughed quietly before kissing her ear.
“Don’t worry.” Di rolled her eyes.
Yeah, right. That’s not what I’m worried about. Let’s see how well my self control holds up on this trip. Nat and Jai grinned evilly. Di caught them looking and glared.
This is gonna be a long trip.
  Mint was in seventh heaven.  I’m in one of my favourite countries with the man I love...what could be more perfect? Suddenly Kyoraku came jogging over.
“Good news everyone! I found our caravans!” He attempted to put an arm round Nanao’s waist and failed when she skilfully side-stepped.
“Huzzah!” shouted Renji, Nat and Jai.
“Hey genius! You might want your luggage!” Di shouted after Nat as he tried to join the mad scramble towards the parking area.

And of course there was an argument over who would go where. Nanao wished she had a whistle. It was like supervising a bunch of children.
“It’s going to be split into a girl’s caravan and two boys’ caravans. There will be no further discussion on the topic!” Ukitake smiled apologetically at Mint. He secretly wished he was in the same caravan as Mint.
“But-!” Nanao snapped her clipboard shut.
“No further discussion, Hattori-yonseki!” Raiden glowered at her. Di sighed, inwardly grinning.
Baka Rice! The boys, after much grumbling, split themselves up into two equal groups. Mint nudged Di and grinned. Di looked confused.
“What?”
“All the freeloaders are in one caravan!” Di snorted with laughter.
“Oh yeah, good point.”
“Shut it both of you!” Renji snapped, outraged. “At least I work for my keep!” Di grinned at him.
“We came highly recommended. Sumimasen ne, Abarai-san.” she finished in an Urahara imitation. Renji stormed off towards the nearest caravan followed by Nat and Jai. Raiden grinned at her.
“See ya later babe.”
“Whatever. Try not to cause a road accident.” Di replied.
“Wait! Everyone!” Nanao shouted. “No one gets on those caravans!” Kyoraku paused, half-way through the door.
“What is it now, Nanao-chan?”
“Who are the designated drivers? You must have been notified in Soul Society. “Nat grinned evilly.
“Oh yeah...that’s me and Jai. I’ll take our caravan.” Jai grinned.
“I’ll take the girls’ caravan!” Di smiled innocently at him.
“Sorry, Jai, that’s the one I’m driving.” Nanao nodded, satisfied.
“Good. Now we can finally get underway.”
“Actually...I’ll switch caravans-“
“Get back on that caravan, Hattori-yonseki!” shouted Nanao, whipping round and taking off her glasses. Raiden bolted into the caravan, a shocked look on his face.

Di sat herself behind the wheel of the larger caravan listening to the sounds of amazement coming from behind her. She had to admit that the caravan was pretty cool. She’d never been holidaying in a mobile home before and it was a completely new experience for her. She adjusted the front mirror and grinned.
First things first...let’s see if I’ve still got the skills necessary to drive such a big vehicle. She switched the GPS on, typing in the name of their first campsite. Apparently it was near Rotorua. She couldn’t wait.
Mint, strapped in at the back, stared around the caravan in awe. This mobile home is awesome! It’s got everything. She suppressed a laugh, remembering that there were three double beds. She wondered how the guys were getting on- especially in Nat’s caravan. There was bound to be an argument.
Hmm...she mused. Anyone with Nat in a double bed’s gonna cringe all night...and anyone with Rice in a double bed will get kicked. Oh dear. Poor Renji and Jai. She looked out the window and smiled as Di started up the engine.
“Huzzah!” came Di’s voice from the front seat. “We’re off!!”
“Woohoo!!” shouted Matsumoto enthusiastically from the seat opposite Mint. Mint glanced at the strawberry blonde haired fukutaicho.
“By the way, Rangiku-san, what exactly did you buy from Duty Free?” Matsumoto gave her a wink and pulled out three bottles. Mint’s eyes went wide.
“Oh my god. Three?!” Matsumoto nodded happily and almost dropped the red one she was holding when Di braked suddenly.
“Hey! Di-chan! What gives?” Di picked up the intercom receiver by her hand as Jai’s voice crackled through.
“Sorry, Di...I stalled...I’m not used to driving this.” He sounded so sheepish that she calmed down immediately. Nat horned.
“Oi! Get a move on, Di!”
“Can’t! Didn’t you hear what Jai said just now?! He’s stalled!” Nat grumbled something incoherent over the intercom.  Matsumoto looked at the label on the red wine bottle.
“I think it says, ‘Cabernet Sauvignion.’ What language is that, Mint-chan?” Mint took an educated guess.
“It sounds French.”
“Hmm...ooh this one’s pink! I think Kyoraku-taicho will like this one!”

Di looked up from checking the GPS at a traffic light as Nat’s voice crackled over the handset.
“Hey, Di, race ya.” Di opened her mouth to say yes but then Nanao had leaned over the seats.
“No!” she snapped.
Di heard Raiden mutter, “Spoilsport.” in the background and suppressed a grin.
“Well think about it, Di-san...you’re driving a 6 person caravan.” Di sighed.
“OK, OK, Nanao-san I understand.”
Damn. And I was going to try to win as well! She thought in annoyance, watching as signs to Rotorua flashed past. Thank goodness Jai’s got Ukitake-taicho reading the map for him or we’d have been stuck a long time ago. No offense to Jai. she thought with a grin.

Suddenly, Mint poked her head into the cabin.
“Ukitake-taicho?” she asked hopefully. Di raised an eyebrow.
“Well...I wasn’t talking to him just now...” Mint made puppy dog eyes. “Ukitake-taicho?” she asked again. Di sighed.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll put him on. She changed the frequency. “Hey, Ukitake-taicho....your lady needs you.” Di handed Mint the intercom handset with a flourish. “Your knight in shining armour awaits.” Mint grinned and took the handset.
“Jyuushirou-san?” Her heart leapt when she heard his voice.
“Hello, Mint. Are you all right? Enjoying yourself?”
“I miss you, Jyuushirou-san.” Mint pouted, ignoring Di who was quietly laughing at the expression on her friend’s face.
“Aww.” She heard him say gently.
“Well...we can’t help that. It’s more convenient this way. I miss you too you know.” Mint smiled, in a happy daze but still missing him terribly.
Di felt her phone ring and switched it to hands free.
“Hello?” she said, raising her voice so that she could be heard above Mint.
“Oi, why’s your frequency blocked?” came Nat’s annoyed voice. “We’ve been trying to get through for about ten minutes!”
“Mint’s talking to Ukitake-san.” Di replied, smiling as Nat snorted.
“I should’ve figured. Ask Jai if he’s sure this is the right way.” Di nodded.
“OK.” She looked out of the window and frowned.
I’m pretty sure the road shouldn’t be narrowing like this...
”Mint, can I speak to Jai for a minute...or in fact can I speak?” Di asked in a loud voice. Ukitake’s voice came crackling through.
“What is it, Di?”
“Are you guys sure this is the right way? The road seems to be narrowing quite a bit.” She heard Jai swear over the intercom and then he braked sharply, causing her to do the same. Nat, behind her came to an equally screeching halt.
“What the hell happened?!” he shouted out of the window. Di stuck her head out of her window.
“I can’t get the caravan any further up this way! I’m gonna have to reverse!” Jai yelled back from the front. “Sorry guys!” Di swore and sat back down.
“You must be joking me.” Several minutes later they’d reversed back out onto the main road.
“That was the world’s biggest joke.” Di muttered to herself, wiping sweat off her forehead. Mint was back on the intercom to Ukitake. Her phone rang again.
“Argh! Now what?!” Di muttered distractedly.
“Hello?”
“Hey baby. How come the intercom’s not working again?”
Di shot Mint a look before saying, “Mint’s on the intercom to Ukitake-san.” Raiden made a noise of disgust.
“Huh. Typical. Tell her to get off- I wanna talk to ya.” Di sighed.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Also, I can’t talk for long periods of time and drive.” Raiden laughed.
“Whatever, Di. Just make sure Jai doesn’t do something stupid. You would’ve thought ji- Ukitake-taicho would’ve learned to read a map by now.” Di looked up to see Mint glaring at the phone.
“Umm...I have to go Rice. I’ll talk to you at the campsite.”  She grinned innocently at Mint.
“What?” Mint glared at her.
“Firstly...I’m quite pleasantly surprised that he called Jyuushirou-san, ‘Ukitake-taicho’ but....what the hell did he mean by that?! It wasn’t Jyuushirou-san’s fault!” Di held her hands up in consternation, causing Nanao to have a minor heart attack.
“I have no idea.” Mint opened her mouth to vent when Ukitake’s voice crackled over the airwaves.
“You know Mint. We should pick up this conversation off the intercom.” Mint grinned.
“OK Jyuushirou-san...I’ll call you!” She passed the intercom back to Di and raced to sit back down so she could start dialling. Di watched her go with quiet amusement.
“I heard all of that.” Di grinned hard.
“I knew you were still on the line, moron. And, by the way, well done for remembering your promise.”
“I told ya I would, didn’t I?”
“Good boy. Now leave me be...I’m trying to drive.”
“Quit trying to drive and drive properly then.” Di spluttered in indignation.
“Come here and try and drive then!” She could hear him laughing over the other end.
“Aren’t ya gonna start saying stuff like “I miss you?”” Di snorted.  
“Yeah right. I know I’m going to see you at the campsite whether I like it or not.”
She heard Mint say, “Aww Jyuushirou-san, you’re so sweet!” Raiden burst out laughing on the other end.
“Get off already! You’re clogging up the airwaves, baka Rice!” Di mock complained.
“Yeah right, see ya there, babe.”
Di listened in to Mint’s conversation with half an ear before wondering for the umpteenth time whether she was actually in love with Raiden.
I think I actually am. She thought with a shock which made her sit up straight. It had sort of crept up on her without her noticing it. My god...do I really? I shouldn’t be quick to tell him...it’ll give him the world’s biggest ego boost and he can do without it. What am I going to do?
Mint finished her conversation with Ukitake feeling happy and light-headed. She had been sorry to let him off the line, but he had insisted that he had had to go back to reading the map. She stretched fully feeling energised. Taicho...I love you so much that I even miss you when you’re in a different caravan to me. Is this what love is? She asked herself.

Finally, all three caravans pulled into the large campsite. Di found herself speechless. My god- the scenery is breathtaking. Mint felt impatient as the caravan pulled up to the square area of green beside Lake Rotorua.
It’s perfect. This is going to be another memorable holiday- I just know it! Di pulled into a parking space on the green a few metres away from Jai’s caravan and turned the engine off.
“Everyone out!” She heard the mad scramble for the side door and threw her door open as the boys parked their caravan on the other side. Nanao immediately took charge again. She sighed inwardly. It really was like keeping a bunch of children in order.
“Everyone stop what you’re doing immediately!” she shouted. “Ukitake-taicho and Mint-san please don’t go anywhere!”
“But- but-“ Mint protested, annoyed that her reunion with Ukitake was being interrupted.
“Put Di-san down Hattori-yonseki she’s not going anywhere near the lake just yet!”
“Aw hell!” snapped Raiden putting Di back down on the shore.
“Matsumoto-san, please put the bottles back on the bus! You too Hisagi-san!”
“Now, now Nanao-chan.” said Kyoraku in an appeasing tone. “Why not give everyone some time to get adjusted-“
“No.” snapped Nanao. “The caravans have to be sorted out first! And remember- they have to go back in pristine condition- so be careful.” Everyone dispersed back to their various caravans. Matsumoto took great delight in showing everyone her bikinis and scandalising Isane.
“Di? How come you’re wearing your bikini?” Mint asked when she came out of the bathroom. Di grinned at Mint.  
“There’s a body of water outside which I’m going to jump in after I’m finished with this.” Matsumoto pulled out her sun cream.
“Sunbathing anyone?” Nanao gave her a look. “Of course after we’ve finished unpacking.” Matsumoto finished.

Di threw the last of her clothes in the wardrobe and brushed her hands off. “Are you done yet?” she asked Mint. Mint spread her sleeping bag on top of the double bed before saying,
“Just about.” Di punched the air.
“Woohoo! Let’s go then!” Both of them ran out of the caravan, almost flattening the campsite cat which streaked away in panic. Kira, Shuuhei, Jai, Nat, Raiden and Renji were already by the lake when Mint and Di came jogging up.
“Oh? Where’s Jyuushirou-san?” Mint asked, disappointed.
“He’s still unpacking.” Shuuhei replied with a grin. “He said he’d be out in a minute.”
“How come no one’s gone in yet?” Di asked, folding her arms. Renji made a face.
“It’s cold.” Di smirked.
“Babies!”
“Fine! Then you go first!” Renji challenged. Di made a face at him.
“Easy as pie. Watch and learn.” Mint mentally face-palmed.
Oh dear. I think that water’s colder than you think Di.
There was a splash and a loud shriek. Mint tried not laugh as Di resurfaced, looking shocked. The boys roared with laughter.
“Who’s the baby now?” Renji taunted.
Di recovered herself well and shot back, “I notice you still haven’t got in, freeloader. What? Too deep for you? I think there are some armbands in the caravan.”
“That’s it!” Renji shouted. Di grinned, sculling into deeper water. The set up was too perfect. She knew that the water was deeper than she was tall, yet she had found the only outcrop in that area. If she stood on it, it looked as though the water was up to her waist in the area. Renji ran into the water cursing as the cold hit him. Di waved at Mint as Matsumoto came bounding over with a deckchair.
“Come on in- the water’s lovely!” Mint sighed.
I doubt it somehow.
“In a minute!” She scanned around for Ukitake. Shuuhei and Kira cautiously made their way into the water, cringing a little. Matsumoto lay back in the deckchair, sunning herself.
“Prepare yourself, Di!” Renji yelled, wading over to her. Mint saw the evil grin on Di’s face and inwardly sighed.
Oh dear, what’s she up to?  She looked across at Nat, Jai and Raiden.
“Aren’t you three going in?”
“Have you felt how cold that is?!” Raiden snapped.  
“Chicken!” Di yelled across.
Oh boy. Mint thought as Raiden jumped in.
“You’re gonna get it for that!” Mint looked across at Di who was standing waist deep in water looking completely unconcerned. Matsumoto lowered her sunglasses a notch, a smile on her face.
“I think that Di-chan has a plan...don’t you Mint-chan?” Mint grimaced.
“It worries me what kind of plan it is.”
“Mint!” Mint whirled round to see Ukitake jogging across from the campsite, a smile on his face. “Sorry I took so long! Is the water nice?” Mint grinned, happiness flooding her.
“That’s OK. I don’t think it’s safe to go in the water at the minute though.” Ukitake looked puzzled.
“Why?” Mint cast a glance over at Di who was yawning theatrically. Renji and Raiden had almost reached her.
“Di’s in the water.” Ukitake looked and saw what was happening.
“Di! I’d move if I were you!” He shouted. Matsumoto giggled.
“Oh my. That one’s up to something.” Kira and Shuuhei looked over too along with Nat and Jai who were wading gingerly into the blue depths. Di grinned to herself. She knew at any minute the ground would give way sharply as the walls of the caldera dropped away into the underlying basin. She had felt that herself as she’d jumped in but hadn’t let on to anyone.
“Come on! Jeez, you two couldn’t catch a cold.” She taunted. Both boys jumped.
Too perfect. Di thought as both of them disappeared underwater with twin yells of surprise. Mint snorted with laughter.
“Those two idiots.” Ukitake looked as though he didn’t know whether to laugh or look horrified. Di was laughing so hard that she almost fell off the outcrop. Renji’s head broke the surface followed shortly by Raiden’s. Neither of them looked impressed.
“You two were brilliant!” Di spluttered, clutching her sides. Renji started swimming furiously towards her.
“Now you’re really gonna get it, Di!” Di grinned.
“I think not.” She leapt off the outcrop and started swimming away. Mint grinned.
“Aren’t you worried she’ll get caught?” Ukitake asked watching the chase. Mint beamed at him. “Don’t worry about that, Jyuushirou-san. Di was on the swimming team when she was alive. I doubt either of them will be able to catch her.” She took his hand as shouts filled the air.
“Swim, Di!” yelled Jai, “The shallow bit’s here!” Nat laughed hard as Di made a sharp turn completely throwing Renji off and avoiding Raiden. Mint smiled at Ukitake.
“Shall we go in too?” Ukitake looked at the water and nodded.
“Of course.”

Di made it to the shallow patch near the shore and leapt out of the way as Renji lunged at her.
“There’s no way you’ll catch me in water- so give up already! I could do this all day!” She splashed past Nat and Jai who were grinning. Di slowed a little, confused.
Why were they grinning like that? That’s their twin grin when they’re plotting something. She scanned the lake, throwing herself back into the semi-deep patch as Renji made another grab. She swam over to the other end to lead him away from where Mint and Ukitake were sat in the water talking to each other. She threw him off again and climbed onto a patch of outcrops to scan the lake again.
Where’s Rice? I hope that idiot hasn’t drowned himself. She caught Nat and Jai out of the corner of her eye looking on intently. What’s going on? What have I missed? Even Renji seems to have backed off. He was currently standing up in the water a few metres away, grinning at her. Di folded her arms.
“OK, I give up? What am I missing? Why are you grinning like an idiot over there? Is there a shark over here or something?” The water suddenly exploded upwards. Di’s shriek carried over to Mint and Ukitake.
“The hell?!” Mint said, starting as Ukitake gasped. Matsumoto pushed her sunglasses down to see better and then grinned.
“Oh my, that was sneaky.” Nat and Jai fell about laughing on the shore.
“That was priceless!” Nat howled. “Did you see the look on her face?!” Jai was laughing too hard to reply but managed to nod. Di resurfaced still looking shocked and clinging to Raiden who was laughing his head off.
“Baka Rice!” she shouted at him, furious that she’d been pulled in so easily.
“Got ya good, babe!” he grinned.
“What was that you said? That we’d never catch you in water? Eh, Di?” Renji smirked. Di shot him a look and attempted to swim away.
“Oh no you don’t, Di.” Raiden said, holding her to him tighter. “I think you owe me an apology for that stunt you pulled earlier.” Di stuck her tongue out at him.
“Make me, jerk.” Raiden grinned.
“Watch where you stick that tongue, babe.” Nat grinned and took out his camera.
“Jai my friend...I sense a photo opportunity.” Di glared at him, noticing the appearance of the camera.
“Let me go and I might not drown you later.” Raiden laughed.
“You won’t do that. Besides...you had a pretty good go at doing it earlier.” Di smirked at him.
“Oh trust me...I’ve been swimming long enough to do worse.” She struggled furiously. “Oi! Stop trying to do that! I double knotted it for a reason you perv!”
She tried again. “Oh look- Matsumoto’s taking her top off! Look, look!” Renji whirled round along with Jai.
“Where, where?!”  Raiden snorted.
“Yeah right. Nice try, babe. You’re not getting out of this that easily.” His mouth covered hers and as per usual she felt her self control leave via the backdoor. Di heard Nat’s camera clicking as Raiden kissed her. God dammit Nat!

Mint shook her head. My god...those two. It defied belief that they hadn’t killed each other by now. Matsumoto was grinning behind them.
“Di-chan certainly seems to be enjoying herself- no?” Mint turned back to Ukitake who was flushing.
“Just ignore them, Jyuushirou-san. You know what they’re like...actually...what he’s like.”  Ukitake smiled, still a brilliant shade of pink. Mint noticed his discomfort.
“We can go back to the caravans if you like?” Ukitake shook his head.
  “Oh no. It’s alright. Are you sure you don’t want to go for a swim, Mint.” Mint shook her head.
“It’s nice just talking with you, Jyuushirou-san. Besides, the snoop gang are too busy trying to take pictures of Di and Raiden to bother with us.” Ukitake smiled.
“They are very persistent, aren’t they?” Mint nodded, annoyance showing on her face.
“I wish they’d pack it in for once! It’s getting on my nerves!” Ukitake smiled and kissed her forehead, watching the annoyance drain from her face to be replaced with a smile.
“That’s much better, Mint. I don’t like seeing you angry.” Mint smiled at him, before casting a quick glance over at Matsumoto who seemed to have gone to sleep in the sun.
“Umm...Jyuushirou-san?” she said, leaning closer to him. Ukitake saw what she was attempting and smiled. He leaned in closer, noting the blissful expression on Mint’s face.
“Ukitake!” Ukitake stopped, disappointment showing on his face for an instant. Mint looked equally devastated. She glared up at Kyoraku who was standing on the shore above them, grinning.
“This had better be good!” Mint snapped as Matsumoto sat up with a look of interest on her face.
“I think that after dinner we should try that gensei game called poker!” Kyoraku replied. “Some youngsters over there were playing a variation on it called strip poker which seemed like fun!” Mint stared at him.
“Do you know what strip poker entails, Kyoraku-san?” Ukitake looked completely confused and innocent.
“Why yes, Mint-chan and I think everyone will enjoy it!” Mint saw the grin on his face and inwardly groaned.
Oh dear. Ukitake, to her shock, was beaming.
“Well...if it’s a game that everyone will enjoy...why don’t we play it after dinner then?” Kyoraku looked thrilled.
“Good, then that’s settled, I’ll go tell the others.” He bounced off down the shoreline. Mint turned to Ukitake.
“Umm....Jyuushirou-san...do you have any idea what strip poker’s about?!” Ukitake beamed at her.
“No, but I’m sure it can’t be anything too bad, right?” The sight of his smiling face made Mint feel furious at Kyoraku for leading him on.
“Look, Jyuushirou-san, it’s like this-“
Down the beach she heard Di’s voice scream, “Ehhhhh?!” as Kyoraku told them about the plans for that evening.

Mint was beaming. To be accurate, Mint, Matsumoto and Di were all grinning like Cheshire cats to a varying degree.
“Hey! This isn’t fair! How come you three are still practically fully clothed?!” shouted Nat, shivering in his boxers at the far end of the table.
“Yeah! You must’ve cheated!” Jai accused, in a similar state to all the others around the table. Di gave him a look.
“No. Rice cheated and he got punished accordingly. We haven’t done anything.” She turned to Raiden. “I don’t know why you bothered- I’m sitting right next to you and sleight of hand doesn’t work here...unless you’re against Nat I suppose.”
“Indeed.” said Mint, patting the large pile of clothes beside her. Rice glared at her. Ukitake smiled at her, despite feeling very exposed.
At least she’s winning. Matsumoto looked at the smaller pile of clothes beside her and grinned.
“Come on boys, know when you’ve been beaten.” Nat tried again.
“But Di came in wearing several hundred layers! Surely that’s cheating!” Di made a face at him.
“No, that’s called being smart.”
“Yare, yare.” Kyoraku muttered looking despondently at his straw hat which was balanced atop Mint’s pile. “Seems like we were beaten fair and square, eh Ukitake?” Ukitake smiled awkwardly at him.
“It would seem so. Well played girls.” There was a grudging mutter from the boys around the table before clothes were handed back to owners. There was a knock on the door before Nanao and Isane entered, Nanao looking disapproving.
“Have you all quite finished? Can we come back in?” Kyoraku adjusted his shirt and winked at her.
“Of course, Nanao-chan. Pity you didn’t stay though...you would’ve enjoyed it!”
“I seriously doubt that, taicho.” Nanao replied, adjusting her glasses. “I also think that we need our caravan back.” The group stood and began to meander towards the door. Di suddenly had an idea.
“Rice...let’s go camping!” He stared at her.
“Huh?! But we already have a-!“ A look of comprehension dawned along with a large grin. “Sure babe, why not.”
“Good. Go get the tent then.” Mint watched them leave.
Hmm...that doesn’t seem like a bad idea. She looked over at Ukitake who was buttoning up his shirt.
“Jyuushirou-san...let’s also go camping!” Ukitake looked completely nonplussed.
“But, Mint...we already have a caravan...why are we using the tent?” Mint smiled at him pleadingly.
“Please, Jyuushirou-san....It’ll be fun!” Ukitake finally gave in.
“Oh, alright then. Let’s go.” Nat and Jai turned to watch them leave, twin grins on their faces.
“Jai, my friend.”
“Yes, Nat?”
“The pairs have left the caravan...I sense another photo opportunity.”
“Definitely. I’ll go grab the tent.”
“Then I’ll get the binoculars and we should be all set.” Grinning evilly, they too left.