She was going to resign. She was serious this time. It really just wasn't worth it anymore. Another scream of laughter pealed out of the women around her as Lisa told them a story about her sexual escapades.

"Guys," Nanao called trying again. "We really should be focusing on planning the charity fundraiser."

"It's months away," Rangiku said waving her off. "Lisa-san tell them the one about the Americans you showed around Japan."

Lisa shot Nanao a slightly apologetic look, but indulged the group by starting on her next story. Nanao sighed. She really needed to resign. SWA meetings were even more chaotic now that the female Vizards often made guest appearances. She supposed she should just be grateful Lisa wasn't telling any stories about her Taicho.

She almost wished Yachiru had shown up to this meeting, as at least the presences of the little girl kept the conversation less filthy. Perhaps she should just call the meeting and leave them all to their gossip. She really didn't want to know the mechanics of being whatever spit roasted meant. She could take a good guess anyway.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she felt an impact on her head and nearly had her face shoved into the table as Yourichi used her head as a springboard to leap down from a window and onto the table in her cat form.

"Are you still telling that old story?" the cat groused.

"It's a good story."

"The first three times."

"New audience."

Nanao saw her moment and pounced. "Perhaps we should get down to business so Yoruichi-san isn't bored and then all of you can finish this conversation later."

"Did I ever tell you the one with the guy that had a cat fetish?" Yourichi asked. Nanao facepalmed and groaned. They were never getting out of this.

"Do you mean for like you in your cat form?" Rukia asked looking terrified.

"I would think that would be difficult to manage anatomically," Nemu put in thoughtfully. "Unless he also could transform into a cat?"

"No, no. He was human. He couldn't change form. He was just into girls dressed like cats."

"I've often wondered how you do that," Rangiku put in. "Could you teach us? Turning into a cat I mean, not having sex with a man while you're dressed as a cat. Think of all the pranks we could pull! Not to mention the candid shots we could get of hot naked men."

"It's an old family secret," Yoruichi divulged. "It's only ever been taught to someone outside the family once and that's because I lost a really terrible bet. Luckily when I explained all the training and time it would take Kyouraku-san was no longer interested in learning."

That certainly caught Nanao's attention. "Kyouraku-san? You mean my Taicho?"

"Of course, do you know any others I would have lost a bet to? I swear that man cheated, but I can't figure out how." Yoruichi transformed back into her human form and stretched, obviously unconcerned by her nudity. Soi Fon moved quickly to offer her Taicho haori, which the women shrugged on with a languid movement, although it didn't cover much.

"But you didn't teach it to him?"

"I mean I gave him the basic outlines of the mechanics of it." Yoruichi shrugged and grabbed a cookie from the pile of snacks that Kiyone had provided for the meeting. "But like I said he realized how much work it would be and opted out. He really is a lazy bastard."

Nanao's mind was churning. The women's conversation swirled around her but she was no longer paying attention. Contrary to popular belief her Taicho was not lazy. At least not when he didn't want to be. Paperwork he avoided, but if something was to his advantage or caught his interest he pursued it relentlessly and with a mind so sharp and quick it was scary. There was no way her Taicho would find something like animal transformation not worth his time. It was more than likely given the basics of the process he'd decided he could figure out the rest on his own and hadn't wanted anyone to know he had the ability.

"You turn into a male cat." The women around her kept talking as they'd somehow gotten back on the topic of sex. She cleared her throat and stood up drawing their attention back to her. "You turn into a male cat."

"Yes, and?"

"Does it happen that way for everyone? Is your animal form always the opposite gender?"

"Yes, does that matter?"

"That bastard."

"Nanao-san?" Isane asked concerned.

"I'm leaving."

"The meeting is not over."

"You run it," she said tossing her notebook and pen to Matsumoto. She heard the women calling after her but she didn't care. She made it to the door and shot off into a shunpo. Her first instinct was to go to her Taicho's house and kill him, but she was nothing if not a rational planner. She tamped down on her anger and headed home instead. She didn't just want to scream at him while he gave her that understanding grin which said he was humoring her rage. No, she was going to make him feel this one.

It took a few days, but Nanao could be very patient when she had a plan. It was a bright Saturday morning and Nanao was out on her small porch sipping tea and reading when she heard the telltale meow. Nanao looked up from her book and worked to keep her expression pleased as the brown tabby cat worked it's way down over the fence and into her tiny yard.

"Hello there, Miss Bennet." The cat meowed again and stopped to stretch before bounding up to the porch and rubbing up against her. "How are you today?" She scratched the cat's neck and it let out a rumbling purr.

The cat had started coming around years and years ago. She'd showed up one day and Nanao had just assumed she was a neighbor's cat. The cat showed up when she wanted to and was friendly enough. Nanao had tried to figure out who her owner was a couple times over the years, but it'd never really troubled her that she couldn't. She'd never seen any harm in enjoying the cat's company and had named it Miss Bennet just so she had something to refer to her as other than cat. What was really odd, but Nanao had never really questioned for lack of reason to, was that the cat seemed to have a 6th sense for when she was upset. Without fail the cat showed up whenever she needed comfort. She supposed now she knew why.

Nanao struggled not to make a fist and punch the stupid cat as it rubbed up against her. She wouldn't have said half the things she'd said to the cat over the years if she'd known it was Shunsui all along. Although she supposed that was his whole point in this.

"Would you like a treat?" The cat meowed and Nanao got to her feet. She moved into her house and the cat followed her like she owned the place, which was normal enough as Nanao had let the cat roam her home often. Nanao placed her book down on the table and put her mug in the sink before reaching down to scoop the cat into her arms.

It purred and cuddled closer to her, which is when Nanao put her plan into action. Reaching over and under the table she tugged out a box and placed the cat quickly in it slamming the little gate shut. The cat gave a confused and plaintive meow from the carrier it was now trapped in and Nanao ignored it.

"Now don't be upset," she chastised lightly. "It really is for the best. I've asked around everywhere and no one has claimed you as theirs. It can't be good for a cat to be wandering around all the time the way you do with no medical care. It's one quick trip to the vet."

She heard a panicked little meow from the carrier and grinned as she scooped the box up and headed for the door. A paw shot out trying to work the latch and Nanao smiled broader. She'd paid extra for the carrier that had a better locking mechanism. If Shunsui was having a small heart attack he had no one to blame for it but himself. She felt the carrier shift as the cat scrambled around looking for a way out.

"Calm down, sweetheart," she cooed down at the box. "It's one quick shunpo. Wouldn't want me to drop the case going that fast. I'm not sure it'd protect you from the fall." Nanao pulled the case more firmly against her side, but felt the movements die down inside. She could imagine the thoughts churning through Shunsui's head as he plotted ways to escape. Too bad she was better prepared than him this time.

Nanao landed in the 1st district right outside the vet hospital she'd found a few days ago. She'd gone in and checked with them on their policies, asking if she could walk in with a stray neighborhood cat she'd like to adopt when it came back around. The bell attached to the door dinged quietly and the receptionist looked up at her.

"Oh, Ise-san! So glad to see you again. Did the kitty come back around then?"

"She did." Nanao held up the carrier so the woman could get a better look.

"Well, what a cute little lady," the woman said peering into the kennel.

"Would you be able to fit us in today?"

"You're in luck! We just had a cancellation. The doctor should be able to see you shortly. Why don't you have a seat and I'll tell her you're here."

"Thank you." Nanao settled into a chair and pulled the carrier into her lap keeping her hand gently over the door so Shunsui couldn't attempt anything.

It wasn't long before she was ushered into a small exam room by a nurse. "You'll have to be very careful with the doors," she advised. "Miss Bennet is a very clever cat and very good at escaping."

"We're used to that here ma'am. Trust me it won't be an issue."

Nanao open the cage and expected Shunsui to make a mad dash for it, but instead nothing happened. She smiled and laughed. "She's gotten stage fright it seems. Come on, Miss Bennet."

The nurse went to reach into the cage but an enraged hiss and a growl had her quickly pulling her hand back out. Nanao was about to suggest she do it as she highly doubted Shunsui would actually attack her, but the nurse just rolled her eyes and started undoing the screws on the side of the kennel. "Happens all the time." She popped the top half of the cage up and off to reveal one pissed off kitty curled into a ball in the back. The cat growled and slashed at the nurse with her claws when she came near.

"I can hold her." Nanao picked the cat up without fear and while it growled at her it made no further move to inflict physical pain. She probably shouldn't be enjoying this revenge as much as she was.

"Great, we're just going to get her temperature first." The nurse dipped the thermometer in a lubricant and Nanao had a brief moment to wonder why before the nurse circled her and lifted the cat's tail.

Nanao winced as the thermometer went in and the cat in her arms looked up at her like she'd betrayed it. She'd feel guiltier if she didn't remember crying into the cat's fur when her ex dumped her years ago. Shunsui had no right to the intimacies of her life he'd secretly taken. If a thermometer up the butt was all he had to suffer he should count himself lucky.

The nurse took the temperature and weight quickly and told her the doctor would be in shortly.

"It's really not so bad," she comforted. "She could have used no lube at all." The cat glared at her and she shrugged. "It's all in the name of good health. I'm going to adopt you so we should deal with any medical issues up front. Of course, you'll have to adjust to being an indoor cat, but I'm sure it won't be that bad. You'll be able to nap and play all day." The cat looked a bit indecisive about that bit of news and she smiled. "You'll love it. I promise." The cat couldn't seem to help snuggling into her arms and she almost felt bad. Then she remembered ranting about her Taicho keeping her out of battle to a confused looking cat and steeled her will.

The doctor came in and she kept her grip tight on the cat's fur as the doctor opened and closed the door. There was no escaping now. She was committed to the plan.

"Ah, Ise-san. And this must be Miss Bennet?"

"Yes. I plan on making her an indoor cat."

The doctor felt her way around the cat and ignored her growling. Nanao kept her hands by the cat's face to protect the doctor from being bitten.

"Everything seems in good working order," the doctor finally pronounced. "I really would recommend you getting her spayed though if you're going to keep her."

"Spayed?" Nanao asked innocently.

"Yes, sterilized. Unless you plan on breeding her?"

"Oh, of course not!" Nanao said in mock shock.

"In which case there are no down sides. It gets rid of the risk of ovarian cancer and helps behaviorally. Let me grab you a pamphlet on it. I'll be right back." The doctor excused herself and Nanao relaxed as the door was closed.

"Seems sensible enough," Nanao muttered stroking the cat's back. The cat arched unwillingly under her hand and glared. "After all there's no reason for you to have kittens." Clearly Kyouraku still thought there was a way to escape since he stayed in his feline form. Nanao felt her resolve harden further.

The doctor came back with a pamphlet and Nanao took it without glancing at it. "Could you spay her today?"

If the doctor was surprised she didn't show it. "Actually you've lucked out. It is a surgery day and we have an opening. If you'd like to schedule her we can. She'd have to stay the rest of the day and you could pick her up this evening."

"I think that would be best," Nanao said calmly. "Could you get me an estimate?"

"Of course," the doctor said. "Just a moment" She left the room and Nanao wondered if the cat in her arms was shaking with fear or rage.

"Might as well nip it in the bud now. It'll be over and you can come home this evening with me."

"Enough." Instead of an armful of cat she found her arms encircling a very naked man. She really should have factored that in when she came up with this plan. She spun around to face the door.

"Taicho?" she feigned surprise. "How in the world?"

"How'd you find out?"

"What are you doing here? Where is Miss Bennet?"

"You're a terrible actor, Nanao-chan. How far were you really going to take this? You weren't actually going to leave me here to be sterilized were you?" She heard the pout in his voice and whirled around to chastise him before again realizing he sat naked on the examination table. She grabbed the top of the cat box and threw it in the general direction of his lap.

"Cover yourself," she demanded focusing on his face. "And frankly it would have served you right if I had left you. How could you do such an awful thing?"

"Me? What did I do that was so awful? I never got someone to put a thermometer in your butt."

"Clearly you knew exactly what you did and that it was wrong if you'd rather suffer the indignity of a thermometer up your ass than reveal it was you!"

It was in that particular moment that the vet chose to return. She was greeted by the sight of a rather ruffled Nanao and a naked man sitting on the exam table holding the carrier lid over his privates. "Oh, excuse me." She turned around and walked right back out, which Nanao really couldn't blame her for.

"Nanao-chan, can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"No, we really can't. In fact I have no interest in talking to you for a very long time."

"Nanao-chan, it's not that big of a deal."

"At best it's a gross invasion of privacy," Nanao hissed. "At worst its emotional and mental abuse."

He looked clearly startled and she didn't stick around for his rebuttal. She wasn't in the mood to be cajoled out of her rage. He deserved it and she wasn't overreacting. She'd said things to that stupid cat she'd never have said to her Taicho. She stormed out of the exam room, gave the receptionist cash to cover the visit, and took off into shunpo once she was outside the door.

Let him sulk. He deserved everything he got for lying to her. After all even a lie by omission was still a lie.

He'd tried everything. He'd flooded the office and her home with flowers, wrote lengthy apologetic letters, pouted and pleaded in person, and even done massive amounts of paperwork in an attempt to appease her. Nothing had worked. She'd barely spoken to him other than to tell him what work needed to be done, and she refused to look at him or acknowledge his presence outside of work.

Shunsui knew what he'd done was wrong. Her anger was legitimate. He'd never meant for it to go so far. In fact it'd been an impulse the first time he'd ever gone to her in his cat form. She'd just moved into her little house a few decades ago and she'd refused to invite him over. He'd let the curiosity get the best of him one boring summer weekend and popped over to her place to nose around. What he hadn't expected was his Nanao-chan to be a cat lover.

She'd coaxed and cajoled until he couldn't resist going over to her on her small porch. Then her talented little kido wielding fingers had hit that spot right on his neck that in his cat form had him purring uncontrollably. So maybe he'd gone back a few times and enjoying a warm welcome from Nanao-chan, was that such a crime?

It's not like he'd asked her to spill her heart to him. He'd been surprised when she started sharing details of her life. He'd even felt vaguely uncomfortable about it, but what was he supposed to do? Walk away and leave her to deal with her problems all on her own? Of course he wished she'd tell her worries directly to him, but as she wouldn't at least this way he could offer her some form of comfort – even if it was just cuddling into her lap and purring until her tears stopped. And if he had perhaps dispensed some bad karma on people who had hurt her over those years, well that was neither here nor there.

So after almost two month of being ignored and otherwise glared at, he resorted to his last resort. In his cat form he sprung tentatively up on her fence and waited for her to notice. She had her head bowed over a book as she had so often when he'd visited in the past. Sometimes he'd watch her for long stretches of time before she'd even register his presence. No one could get lost in books like his Nanao-chan. He bounced down over the fence and used her distraction to sneak up to the porch silently and sit an arm's length away.

Something eventually broke her concentration and she glanced up. "No, go away."

He gave a plaintive meow, but didn't move.

"You really think this is going to make me less mad at you?"

If he'd been human he would have pouted, as it was he stared up at her with large eyes and wrapped his tail around himself for comfort.

"You're impossible." She sighed. "And it's absolutely not fair that you can make yourself such a stupidly cute cat." She reached out her hand and he took a few tentative steps forward, melting into her side when she scratched that neck spot he liked so well.

"You understand why I'm so mad? Why I feel so violated?"

He gave her a sad meow and rested a paw on her leg.

"I know you're sorry, you idiot, but honestly I don't know how to stop being angry at you. It's not like there's a way to make it even." He perked up at that. "No, I do not want to be regaled with stories from your personal life. You do that anyway without prompting. That would not make us even." He slumped down again and her hand absently stroked down his back.

"I changed clothes a few times in front of you. Did you look?" He pulled away from her petting hand and gave her an affronted look with an angry meow. "Well how should I know where your lines are? You clearly thought you deserved to know my inner thoughts whether I shared them with you or not. Why in the world wouldn't you think you had a right to my body whether I showed it to you or not?"

He made an unhappy growling noise in his throat and hunched down. Of course he wouldn't do that to her, but he supposed he could see her logic. And he wouldn't lie and say he hadn't been tempted to look, but he was being honest that he hadn't. His intentions of listening to her problems in secret had been noble even if his actions weren't.

"I really just don't know how to forgive you on this one. I've never been angrier at you. You pull stupid stunts, but you've never seriously crossed a line like this before. Even your adorable kitty face isn't going to make this up to me."

"Nanao-chan." He saw her eyes widen and winced. The one problem with his cat form was that his voice was distinctly female when he was in it. It would have been fine if it was just a feminine voice, but his voice was so ridiculously girlish in this form even he knew it was embarrassing. If asked he would say it sounded like cotton candy and sunshine. Oh well, nothing for it now. "I really am sorry."

She started laughing. "Now come on, you're faking that voice for sympathy."

"I'm not," he grumbled, well as close to a grumble as he could get in this form. "Why do you think I switched back into myself at the vet hospital as opposed to just talking to you?"

She was laughing hard now. "You sound ridiculous. Like Yachiru inhaled helium."

"Are you quite done? I'm trying to seriously apologize here." He watched her bend over clutching her stomach as she laughed. "Nanao-chan!"

"You're so ludicrously cute!" She scooped his offended form into her arms and nuzzled his head with hers. "This isn't me forgiving you."

He rubbed his head against her chin and purred, willing to accept any affection he could get from her. The past months had been agony with her giving him the cold shoulder. "I can't undo what I did. I truly am sorry, but I really did only want to be close to you and help you with any and all of your problems that I could. Tell me what to do to earn your forgiveness and I'll do it."

She set him down and sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. I mean has anyone else caught you? What made them forgive you? Did you do this to Ukitake-san?"

"No, Jyuu knows I can change. He's the only one. I'm not going to lie, I've used it to spy on a few people over the years, but I've never been caught. I've also never gone to anyone consistently other than you."

A horrible thought occurred to her. "Ukitake-san didn't know you were spying on me did he?" She really didn't want to have to be angry at both men.

"No," Shunsui answered shaking his little feline head. "He'd have hit me and told you if he knew." He bowed his head in shame at that.

"And that wasn't enough to make you know it was the wrong thing to do?"

"I knew it was wrong," he admitted. "I tried to stop. I tried to coax you into talking about things with me in person, but it never seemed to work and I wanted to know you better so I kept doing it. You were just so relaxed when you thought you were talking to a cat."

"Maybe I didn't want you to know those personal things about me and that's why I never told you. Ever think of that?"

"I know," he said chastised. "I'm sorry. I just care about you and I took it way to far. I wanted to be your friend and your confidante, not just your Taicho. I know you think I'm always joking, but I really do care about you Nanao-chan."

"You have a funny way of showing it." She looked off towards the sky for a moment and he stayed silent having nothing to say to that. "In the future if I don't answer your questions in regards to my personal life you have to respect it and let it go."

"Understood."

"If I need or want your help I'll ask for it."

"Also understood."

"There might be one way I can see myself forgiving you."

"Name it," he said anxiously. All he wanted was to be back in her good graces.

"Teach me how."

"How what?"

"Teach me how to transform too."

He let out a little laugh and winced at the girly-ness of it. It was so very Nanao to trade forgiveness for knowledge. She loved nothing more than learning something new. "It's not really my secret to share." He was debating how hard Yourichi would kick the shit out of him if she knew he'd taught someone else. Not that he'd ever let her know he'd mastered it in the first place.

"It'll be our little secret." And she looked so earnest that there was no way he could say no even if he wasn't in the midst of begging for her forgiveness.

"It's not easy, Nanao-chan."

"I'm a quick learner," she said fiercely.

"That you are." He cocked his to the side. "Fine."

"Ok so what's first?"

"You want to start right now?"

"Why wait?"

"Can I go home and change and get some clothes on first?"

"Do you need to be human to teach me?"

"No, but do you honestly want to listen to me talk like this to explain it?"

She giggled at that and he gave her a Cheshire grin. "I don't know. You're cuter this way." She reached out and scratched one of his ears.

"Hey! I'm cute as a human too."

"No, you're hot as a human," Nanao said and a small blush tinged her cheeks. "You're cute as a cat."

Shunsui gave her a rumbling purr for that assessment. "Up to you then."

"Go home and change, your voice is too cute to function, but don't you dare waste time."

"As you wish, Nanao-chan."

A/N: Going to be a quick three-shot I think :) I just loved this idea when it popped into my head too much to not write it despite it's randomness! Let me know what you think.