The First Inception...

"WAAAHHH!" The youngest girl in the Eighth Division cried out so loud that even the vice captain came to see what the matter was. Little Ise Nanao had been carrying a heavy stack of books down a flight of stairs when she tripped on the hem of her hakama and fell.

"Nanao-chan!" Eighth Division Vice Captain Yadoumaru Risa went into a panic as she saw her number-one fan on scrapped knees trying to pick up the books she had dropped, all the while still crying. She trotted up to her and knelt down to comfort the child.

Nanao wiped her runny nose on her sleeve, not wanting to face her idol after being such a klutz.

"Don't cry. It's alright now, Nanao-chan." Risa said calmly as she smoothed back Nanao's bangs. The young girl peeked out from her sleeve as Risa assaulted her nose with a handkerchief. "Blow."

Nanao blew her nose as instructed to, before shyly looking up at her vice captain. "Gomen nasai, Yadoumaru-Fuku Taichou..."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Risa quickly returned to her usual stoic self once she realized the child would be alright.

"RI-SA-CHAN!" The Captain of the Eighth Division came running up to his vice captain's side. "You left me all alone in that dull office again!"

"I thought you could use the time to attempt some paper work." Risa adjusted her glasses, balancing Nanao on her hip as she stood up.

The captain looked down at the child and chuckled. "And how is this lovely little angel?"

"I... I'm Ise Nanao, sir." She bowed her head respectfully, her cheeks blushing and her eyes wide. This was Nanao's first time meeting her captain face to face.

He was a handsome man, she thought, her indigo eyes moving down from his wavy, dark brown hair to his soft brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, and a goatee slowly working its way along his jaw line. He wore a pink floral haori robe over his captain's haori and a decorative obi sash in place of the plain standard, as well as an expensive pinwheel hairpin in his lush hair. However, what did clothing matter when this man before her was one of the most famous of the captains? This man was Kyouraku Shunsui.

Risa gave a small smile and handed the ebony haired child to their captain. "Hey, trade you. If you're not gonna work, please take her to the infirmary and help her clean her knees up."

"Deal." Kyouraku took Nanao into his arms as Risa went back to the office.

"Y-You don't have to do such a trivial thing Kyouraku-Taichou! I can do it myself!"

"Nonsense. I made a deal with Risa-chan. I have to look after you, understand?" He gave her a big smile.

"Not really sir."

Kyouraku chuckled again and took her to the Eighth Division's medical station. No nurse was on duty, a shame really, but he went and found the antibacterial ointment and bandages while Nanao took a warm washcloth to her horribly scrapped knees. Her hakama was torn from the impact and so she removed them. Her kimono was long enough to keep her undies covered after all.

"Okay! Let's fix you up." He squirted a bit of ointment onto his pointer finger and rubbed it into her right knee. "I'm not pressing to hard am I?"

"Children don't have kneecaps sir. They're still in the process of becoming bone so there's no way you could hurt me."

This child's intelligence impressed him, but she had forgotten one thing. "Most patella ossifies by the time a child is seven, Nanao-chan." He said as he placed a bandage over the right knee and began the same process on the left one. "You're body couldn't be much young than that now, could it?"

"I'm unsure of how old my body is, sir. I think I'm about eight or nine..." She bowed her head and watched as he tenderly placed on the last bandage, when she suddenly remembered her manners. "Oh! It... It's been a pleasure to meet you Kyouraku-Taichou! Thank you very much for looking after me!"

"The pleasure is all mine my dear Nanao-chan." He stood up and bowed to her, taking her left hand in his right and kissing each individual knuckle of the hand before raising back upward. "I'll look forward to working with you."

Nanao gave him a wide smile, nodding happily as she returned the sentiment.

He saw her maybe once a month after that, but one night as he walked back to the Eighth Division barracks, he noticed her waiting in front of the main office.

The Second Inception...

"Um..." She said quietly, clutching a large text book to her chest.

"Er, you're Ise Nanao-chan, right?" He asked.

The child's face instantly perked up. "Oh uh, y-yes sir! I'm honored you remember me!"

"Well you are the youngest here in the Eighth Division, and I do make a habit of learning all the young girls' names. Besides, you come to see us on the first of each month... Oh, today's the first, isn't it?"

"Yes..." Nanao bowed her head, blushing a little. "I wanted to read with Yadoumaru-Fuku Taichou this time too..."

"I see... but I'm sorry, Risa-chan isn't here tonight."

"How come?" Her voice asked like she'd been heart broken.

The Captain of the Eighth Division softened his eyes. "She's on an important mission. But it'll be alright, I'm sure she'll be back by morning."

"Oh..." Nanao held her book tightly, fighting the urge to suppress her tears of disappointment.

How Kyouraku hated to see that expression on a child. "Would you like me to read to you?"

Her expression changed again. "R-Really? You would? You're not too busy?"

"Nope." He smiled, holding out his hand to hers. "Let's go to the office. You can sit at Risa-chan's desk and pretend you're the vice captain."

"Okay!" Nanao excitedly took her captain's hand and had to trot just to keep up with his long strides.

Those were the days of innocence: days when Nanao loved her captain and didn't mind being called 'his Nanao-chan.' She had grown up all by herself, so having Kyouraku spoil her during her first few years in the Eighth Division gave her a sense of worth, that someday someone might just fall in love with her. She never expected it to be her captain though.