She sighed as she pressed the stamp to the last form and added it to the completed pile. Leaning back she rolled her shoulders trying to work out the muscles that had cramped up from long hours of writing.
"Does my Nanao-chan need a shoulder rub?" came a lazy voice from behind her. She could hear the smirk in his tone and didn't bother to turn around before answering.
"Certainly not from you, Taicho," she said, adding his title at the end on purpose hoping once again that he would remember their working relationship and not behave inappropriately. She was also well aware that her hope was more than likely futile.
"But Nanao-chan is stressed," he replied jovially, "and it is a Taicho's duty to keep his fukutaicho happy." Two warm hands came down on her shoulders and instantly began seeking out knots in her back. Nanao couldn't help the mental groan her mind made at the wonderful feel of it, but instantly had a fan in hand to snap his hand away from her. She knew better than to let herself indulge in anything of the sort with this particular man. It could not lead anywhere good.
"So cruel, Nanao-chan," he said in mock despair as he circled her desk holding his now wounded right hand.
"If it is really your duty to keep me happy then you should simply do your share of the paperwork and I would no longer be so stressed," she answered harshly as she rounded up the finished papers to place in the interdivisional mail slots to be picked up in the morning.
"But then I would be unhappy," Kyouraku Taicho pouted at her. "If you continue to do the paperwork, but allow me to give you massages then we will both be content!"
"I believe I clearly stated before that your massages would most certainly not make me happy," she said slipping past him and into the corridor, paperwork in hand.
"Oh? And who's massages, exactly, would make you happy?" he said his tone still light, but with an undertone of warning in it as he walked casually behind her.
It was moments like these that she regretted staying so late in the office. It was a dangerous chance to take when he could come and harass her freely without any fear of distraction or interference by other division members. Nine times out of ten though, she could count on him being out getting sloshed with his drinking buddies and thus leaving her to work in peace. Those nights were perfect because she could use the time to catch up on her backlog and by the time it was done it would be about the time in the morning when she would go out and collect her drunken Taicho from whatever bar he had passed out in.
She sighed as she sorted the papers into the correct slots and gave a startled jump when she felt her Taicho's large warm hand restrain her wrist as it hovered above the 10th division's mail slot.
"Nanao-chan, you didn't answer my question," he said with a pout.
Exhausted from a day of endless paperwork and kido training for the new division recruits, Nanao finally hit a snapping point. Where usually she would have responded that she preferred no one in her personal space, and would he kindly remove himself from it now, tonight she decided to teach him a lesson about asking her pointless questions and interfering with her work.
"I've heard Ukitake-tachio gives delightful massages," she said twisting her wrist out of his suddenly limp grasp. "If he were to offer, I'd hardly be able to refuse." She slipped the last of the paperwork into the correct slots and started back to the office to clean up her desk and head home.
"Nanao-chan," Kyouraku whined continuing to follow her. "Who do you think taught Jyuu his technique?"
This comment did stop Nanao in her tracks, and she turned her head enough to quirk an eyebrow at her Taicho. "Do I even want to know why you were teaching Ukitake-tachio how to massage?"
"To seduce the ladies obviously," Kyouraku responded gaily. "Jyuu-kun was trying to impress a particular lady during academy and I thought I'd kindly teach him a few techniques."
"Probably more like made him learn it entirely against his will," Nanao muttered lowly as she continued her path to her desk.
"What was that, my lovely Nanao-chan?" Kyouraku cooed trailing her like a puppy.
"I was just thanking kami that I didn't attend academy at the same time as the two of you," she snapped organizing her stamps and brushes in a drawer.
"As am I," he said happily. "I'd have been quite exhausted beating off all the hormonal teenage males that looked at my Nanao-chan the wrong way."
"You'd have been too busy flirting to notice," Nanao said matter-of-factly. "Besides I hadn't even hit puberty before I graduated so I would hope that neither you nor any other teenage male would have been looking at me."
"I'm never too busy flirting to notice my cute Nanao-chan," he said grinning at her. She gave him a withering look and started heading for the exit.
"Taicho, I'm going home," she said when she noticed he was still following.
"And I'm walking you home," he said with his ever present smile.
"That is completely unnecessary," she said quickly avoiding the arm he tried to hook around her waist. She didn't even want to think about all the unfortunate things she'd probably let occur if he got that close to her. "I'm not a child anymore, Taicho."
"I'm aware," he said, and then continued dramatically following her down the street, "Now cute Nanao-chan is a lovely delicate woman who a lesser man would try to take advantage of on her solitary trek home. What sort of Taicho would I be if I let my Nanao-chan take this sort of risk?"
"A less obnoxious one," Nanao responded trying not to be the least bit touched by his overprotective nature. It was annoying and not in the smallest bit endearing, she thought to herself over and over again. "I can handle myself."
"And as much as I have full confidence in your ability to handle yourself," he said smirking, "I would much prefer that you accept my helping hand more often. Some things are just better done with two people involved."
Nanao glared at his innuendo and picked up her pace trying to force the blush away from her face. So much for finding that perverted old man endearing, she thought fiercely. They turned the bend in the street and she was more than relieved to see her small apartment building up ahead.
"I'll be fine from here, Taicho," she said coldly.
"I'll walk you to the door," he responded easily enough striding ahead of her. She sighed and followed knowing it was futile to argue. They walked up to the building and climbed the three flights of stairs in silence entering the corridor leading to her apartment.
Nanao was brought out of her brooding thoughts when her Taicho's arm came out slightly to stop her from moving forward. Finally glancing up she noticed the man leaning against her door. Well, that was certainly odd, she thought trying to move around him to get a better look at the unidentified man. She was quickly frustrated as Kyouraku thwarted all her attempts to get closer.
"Yare, Nanao-chan, it looks like you have a visitor," Kyouraku said loudly enough to startle the man leaning in her doorway. The dark haired man turned to look at the two of them for a moment before his steel grey eyes locked on Nanao.
"Nao-chan," the man said softly standing up straighter. It took her a moment to place him before everything clicked.
"Mamoru-san" she replied reverently. She moved to pass her Taicho, and this time he didn't stop her as he realized they knew one another.
Mamoru smiled and opened his arms to her. "Is that any way to say hello to me, Nao-chan?"
She couldn't stop the infectious grin that spread across her face as she took one shunpo step forward and slammed herself into the man's waiting arms.
"Welcome back, Mamoru-kun." His arms tightened around her and she sunk into them feeling warm and safe. A throat cleared behind them and reminded them they had an audience, and they quickly pulled apart.
"Kyouraku-Tachio this is Mamoru-san. Mamoru-san this is the Tachio of the 8th division Kyouraku-Taicho," Nanao said by way of introduction. Both men acknowledged each other briefly and then silence reigned for a few moments.
"So how do you know my Nanao-chan?" Kyouraku asked after he concluded that no further information was going to be offered.
Mamoru lifted an eyebrow at Kyouraku's possessive question, but made no comment on the subject directly. "Nao-chan and I were friends when we were kids in Rukongai. I haven't seen her in many years though."
"You should have become a shinigami with me," Nanao said looking at him warmly. "Then you wouldn't have had to be away for so long."
"Keh," Mamoru responded smiling down at her, "and become a goody two shoes like you? Never!"
Nanao playfully slapped his arm, but her warm smile didn't falter.
"Shall we all go for a drink then?" Kyouraku interjected breaking their concentration on each other once again. "You can tell me cute stories about my Nanao-chan when she lived in the Rukongai."
"Sorry, I have work early in the morning," Mamoru said. "But perhaps some other time," he offered in a placating tone.
"It's late Taicho," Nanao added easily. "You must have people you need to meet out at the bars? We'd hate to keep you further. Don't drink too much though, we have a meeting at 10 tomorrow morning, and I'd prefer not having to run all over the Seireitei trying to figure out where you've passed out."
"So mean Nanao-chan," Kyouraku whined. "I could just stay here and then I would be very easy to find in the morning."
"Goodnight Taicho," Nanao said coldly. Adjusting her tone quickly she turned back to Mamoru and asked, "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"I'd love that," he said grinning back at her. "It was very nice to meet you Kyouraku-Taicho." Nanao meanwhile turned to her door and began undoing the multiple locks.
"And you, Mamoru-san," Kyouraku said in a tone that caused Nanao to glance up at him. His normal playful smile was gone, and Nanao sighed inwardly. It really wasn't fair that he could flirt with hundreds of girls a day and still got to make her feel guilty every time she talked to a man for longer than five minutes. Pushing the door open she waved Mamoru inside and turned back to her Taicho.
"Are you meeting Matsumoto-san and the usual gang?" Nanao asked trying to gauge how hard she would have to search for him tomorrow.
"I'm supposed to," he said glancing towards her open door where Mamoru was examining a painting on her wall.
"Taicho," she said giving a soft sigh. "You really shouldn't keep them waiting. You have successfully gotten me to my door. Mamoru-kun is an old friend, and you have nothing to worry about."
"If you're sure Nanao-chan," he grumbled.
"Like I said Taicho, you don't need to baby me, I'm not a little girl anymore," she replied giving him a soft half smile as she closed the door on him.
"That's exactly what worries me Nanao-chan," he said quietly facing the closed door. He shook his head and headed out preparing to meet up with his drinking buddies and hoping large quantities of alcohol would make him worry less about the new development in his cute little fukutaicho's life.