Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.
A/N: Contains spoilers for the Pendulum Arc (chapters -108 - 97 and the newest anime arc).
He calls little Ise Nanao into his office a month after Urahara Kisuke's escape. It takes him a month partly because, the morning after that night, he took care to avoid her, because Lisa-chan hadn't come back the next day.
No one had, and he was a liar.
And the other reason why he chooses today is because it is the first of the month.
He hasn't touched a drop of sake since the night Lisa-chan left; he laughs, loud and empty, when Ukitake tells him that he's surprised he hasn't gone into withdrawal. Kyouraku is grateful for Ukitake's continued companionship and offerings of tea, thankful that he has someone to distract him these days.
But little Ise Nanao, the youngest shinigami in his division, doesn't have anyone now, and Kyouraku isn't sure who to blame, because everything surrounding the incident feels suspicious and dubious, and he's learned to trust his gut feelings. The details are confidential, because Central 46 governs Soul Society like the old, archaic trees in the mud they are, and a small part of him can't accept that Urahara and his apparent loose morals were to blame, because he was a good drinking partner and he was Kyouraku's main supplier for prank materials (Yama-ji still hasn't figured out about the exploding putty) and the bastard was so damned miserable about sending Hiyori-chan off that night--
"Captain Kyouraku?"
Kyouraku breathes deeply and unclenches his fists. Perhaps he's over thinking things. "Nanao-chan! I'm sorry to have summoned you so late--"
"This is about Vice-captain Yadoumaru, isn't it?"
Ah, what a girl.
She bites her lower lip and bows her head. "It's okay." She's backing out into the hall, tiny hands tightly clenched around a thick book a fourth her size. "You said she had an important job to do and--"
Kyouraku is at her side in an instant, crouching so he can be closer to her level. He pretends not to notice the tears, and fights the urge to take her glasses off and wipe them dry. "I'm not a very good substitute for Lisa-chan, but I can finish this book with you, if you want."
She hesitates, uncertain if she can risk being a burden, but she eventually drops the book in his waiting hand and stares at his knees when she says, "Yes, please, sir."
Kyouraku smiles, because he has become Nanao-chan's distraction.
And the days pass with minimal longing as he reads (with occasional displays of his versatility as an actor, just to make her smile, even a little), until her hair is long enough to clip back and she's too old for bedtime stories. He asks her to be his vice-captain, the only person since Lisa-chan, because she's the only one who can haul his backside away from a bar, the only one who has the patience to deal with his dimwitted, absentminded antics, the only one--
"I understand."
She accepts.