All Choked Up [Yuuki/Fuuen]

KOIZUMI YUUKI | SECOND WIND, FOURTH DIVISION

Yuuki was bored. They were trying to find a very specific member of the Seventh Division. Sure, Yuuki might have been able to go to Lady Shishiyuki, but that was the nuclear option. The answers as to where he could be ended up being variations of "He kind-of wanders, so I don't know." So helpful. It took more than one gossip trade to get some sort of definitive answer. So Yuuki decided to wait for this mysterious wanderer.

That was two hours ago. Yuuki had changed how they were sitting on the crates at the mouth of the side-street about five hundred times it seemed. They had paced around too. Yuuki had pulled out a bag of candied nuts to snack on as the day grew long. Kicking their legs back and forth, Yuuki was about to give up when someone walked past the alley.

Yuuki let out a surprised noise and hopped to their not-so-impressive full height. They mumbled something that could have been "Hey, hold up" but it was impossible to really tell what was being said. The words came out like Yuuki either had duct tape over their mouth or was still eating. Yuuki rasped out something more intelligible after taking a too-quick swallow. "You're the poet-Shinigami from the Seventh Division—Fuuen, right? I've got a question for you." Yuuki coughed. The nuts had hit their throat wrong and fast. "First, do you have any water?"

THE WIND BLOWS ANEW

FUUEN | WIND BOUNDARY

VICTORY WITHOUT A SOUND | END POST

KOIZUMI YUUKI | SECOND WIND, FOURTH DIVISION

Yuuki was annoyed. What person didn't have at least some form of water on them. It's not like they had any water on them either, but they were above their own reproach. Yuuki let out a small growling grumble that just sent them into another coughing fit. A quick finger held up would tell Fuuen to hold back any attempt at helping. Yuuki took in a deep breath and bent backwards—letting it out as they straightened back up. "I'm going to put in a request for a suggestion box for the entire Gotei United, and the first suggestion is going to be adding a canteen to the standard uniform." With a final cough, Yuuki faced Fuuen.

Noticing the smile, Yuuki's eyes narrowed. "Oi, you better not be laughing at me. Not funny when people choke." Of course it actually was funny, and Yuuki would be laughing far more than Fuuen probably could if, say, Kohaku were the one that just had that happen. "Fūsha-no-Yūki, but I'll let you call me by my less formal name of Yuuki." Yuuki nodded once after the formal introduction. "As a fellow 'Fuu,' I wanted to know... do you actually teach that poetry crap you've written? ...Not that what you wrote is crap, I think it's, you know, deep and stuff."

THE WIND BLOWS ANEW

FUUEN | WIND BOUNDARY

VICTORY WITHOUT A SOUND | END POST

KOIZUMI YUUKI | SECOND WIND, FOURTH DIVISION

Yuuki had heard of ghostwriters before, but they weren't quite sure as to what they actually did. Technically, wasn't anyone who wrote in the Soul Society a "ghostwriter?" That was a question best left unasked. They waved off the comment about price. "I can afford it, don't worry." As heir to their specific dojo, Yuuki had a bit more in their pockets than they let on. Household necessities were already taken care of, so every bit of their paycheck went to support learning new hobbies like this.

"And yeah, I know it'll take multiple lessons and whatnot. It's not the first artform I've tried to learn." Yuuki crossed their arms. "Just don't be getting all judgmental when I can't come up with something good... And don't be patronizing with that whole 'oh you'll do better next time' schtick." Yuuki didn't like being pushed, but they didn't like being coddled either. There was a sweet spot for teaching Yuuki, and if it wasn't there, well, expect at least some extra attitude.

"So like, how do you do this whole tutoring... thing? Is there somewhere you like to do these lessons at, or are you the type to want to come over to my place? Because if it's the latter, you might be in for a bit of a culture shock... When I tried out the shamisen, my first tutor quit because they kept getting lost and accosted by the guards."

THE WIND BLOWS ANEW

FUUEN | WIND BOUNDARY

VICTORY WITHOUT A SOUND | END POST

KOIZUMI YUUKI | SECOND WIND, FOURTH DIVISION

Yuuki had to think on that. They hadn't thought of having to read their own works aloud... "Okay, so definitely not at my place. If Kasei-dono heard me writing instead of practicing more physical arts, he'd chastise the both of us. And then my Division doesn't have anywhere really calm, so that won't work... Plus, I'm not too keen on giving those gorillas more reasons to mock me." Yuuki didn't dislike their division, but they didn't exactly like them either. Although some interactions had been positive and they had genuine friends (like Moe), the overall vibe of the Division was a bit rough. If only Yuuki was good at something else besides fighting, maybe they'd go to a different Division. But the best place to be a fighter was the 4th.

Yuuki thought hard for a moment. They had been on enough rooftops and walls to have a decent layout of where people did and didn't go. An image of an empty square not too far from where they currently were flashed in their mind. It might be a good place to at least start. "I think I know a place... There's a courtyard a few streets over that got cut off when they did some reconstruction. It's now kind-of a dead end and doesn't get much foot traffic." Yuuki tilted their head towards Fuuen. "If you're not busy, I can take you there and we can get at least a little bit started." Yuuki was hoping that Fuuen was free enough to get started, that way in case it didn't pan out, only an afternoon was wasted.

THE WIND BLOWS ANEW

FUUEN | WIND BOUNDARY

VICTORY WITHOUT A SOUND | END POST

KOIZUMI YUUKI | SECOND WIND, FOURTH DIVISION

Yuuki led Fuuen to the courtyard—and actually only ended up getting turned around once. Muttering to themselves throughout the way, there wasn't much conversation to be had. It thankfully was only about a ten minute walk (including the turnaround). And sure enough, it was empty except for some excess building material that was long-forgotten at this point. What a waste. Taking a seat on a pile of lumber that made them taller than Fuuen even while standing, Yuuki pulled out a small memopad and pen from an inner sleeve pocket.

Their eyes lighting up with intensity, Yuuki adjusted and got ready to take notes. They were going to put as much effort as they could into seeing if they were any good at this. "Okay, so, I know with some of the other arts, I've been told to start with a subject—something you want to... express or create again. Is that the same with poetry? Or is it more avant-garde? Like, should I... poeticize about how a bird is pretty, or should it be more how it embodies freedom and stuff like that?"

THE WIND BLOWS ANEW

FUUEN | WIND BOUNDARY

VICTORY WITHOUT A SOUND | END POST