Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo. Not me. All material is his. I'm borrowing it for my amusement. This is Shunsui and Nanao, so prepare yourself for lots of "Nanao-chan's"!
Where Others Can See
A Bleach short story.
On the outskirts of Rukongai it was safe.
The statement was relative, given the fact that there were any number of cutthroat murderers, rapists, and thieves in these parts, scrounging out an illicit living in areas where Shinigami forces were... less than adequate. Not that any of them were a direct threat. A hissing voice tinged with venomous glee whispered in the back of his head: maybe a few of them will lose their minds and kill themselves if they get too close. Somewhere, deep in an old part of his heart, there was a not-so-insignificant agreement.
Focus.
He stepped out of shunpo in the middle of a field, the light of the nearest district barely twinkling on the horizon. Knowing the Zaraki district, the other part of his soul muttered, it's probably a bandit den burning victims. Why don't we go play, Brother?
Soutaicho Shunsui Kyoraku, leader of the embattled and bloodied Gotei 13, didn't respond to his Zanpakuto, which was normally a very good idea. But, tonight, it was better if the blasted swords were in a pleasant mood. He needed Katen Kyokotsu helpful.
Shunsui sat on the barely dew-laden grass, taking a moment to stare up at the moon. It hung low and yellow, bordering on red. A suitable backdrop to any child's nightmare, and a more than appropriate stage for what was about to happen. Is she ready for this? Am I? Even Juu was against this. Not that I need to listen to him. Heh! Never thought there'd be a day when Jushiro told me to take her drinking, instead. Speak of the devil...
A pop of kido and air heralded the arrival of his lieutenant.
"Oi. Nanao-chan, yo-"
"Not your Nanao-chan, sir."
"Lovely Nanao-chan, you'll always be mine. Or, did Nanao-chan follow me to the First Division because she hates me?" Shunsui mocked her lightly before turning on his heel and putting a little distance between them.
She sputtered and waved her hand. "That's an impossible statement to deny, soutaicho! If I say y-"
"Nanao-chan, be quiet." The words were terse and shocking. Literally, in their entire century together, he had never silenced her. With half-lidded eyes he watched her reaction with a small turn, a painful frown etching onto her beautiful features. To her credit, when she realized he saw it, her lips (lovely lips of lovely Nanao-chan) stiffened and she stood stock still. "I'm sorry, Nanao-chan, but tonight, we don't have the time."
"Sir."
Shunsui grimaced. It really was a hassle having to be so serious. But, this evening was going to change their relationship. Forever. To this day, Jushiro still denied the effect it had on him, even if his face gave away his true thoughts.
"You know the Vandenreich can steal our Bankai, Nanao-chan."
Nanao pushed her glasses up. "Yes, sir. That puts a lot of the lieutenants in a good spot to assist, since most of us don't have our final form mastered."
Covering his good eye with the brim of his hat, he continued on. "If I'm forced to release, you may find yourself facing it." A long sigh escaped his lips, infinite melancholy echoing across the placid air. "You, of all the fukutaichous, might be able to take down a Quincy using my power. Your kido abilities, Nanao-chan, are second to none. Quincy have always had a hard time dealing with demon magic, especially hado. But..." Shunsui raised a finger and pointed it at her. "You can not be paralyzed with fear. If Katen Kyokotsu is taken, you will get one shot to kill the thief before they figure out how to use it."
"...Sh... Shunsui. I can't be expected to battle your Bankai and win, can I?" Her cheeks remained tense but he could see hands flexing; he knew from years of being around her that she was panicking inside. "How can you expect m-"
"Hush, Nanao-chan. Put up a barrier." He tossed his hat aside. Tonight, I will commit the ultimate sin.
"Hai, soutaichou." Her reiatsu spiked impressively considering her sword wasn't even released; his heart jumped at how strong she was. Shunsui watched her hands, delicate and soft (Nanao-chan has the softest hands), weave a complex pattern in the air. "A wall of heaven, fall into the abyss. Nine over nine die at touch, nine over nine life expires. Shuddering shield of the depths." A single palm raised skyward, her voice dropping to a hushed whisper. "Distant evil halted. Six. Five. Six. One. Square armor of air to herald the angels. Bakudo number eighty-one." (My Nanao-chan, how she creates beautiful art) "Danku!"
The kido flared, a square of light erupting with a sonic boom, illuminating the evening and sending all manner of souls scampering from the area. My powerful Nanao-chan. Please, stay with me.
He grasped his Zanpakuto pair. No funny business tonight. Dance, my Brother, and let the horrible things loose.
They are not mine, Brother. All yours. When we spin our tale it is your soul that guides us.
Even through the shimmering bakudo spell, he saw Nanao's eyes almost jump from her skull. No doubt she saw the change in his own, the soft brown turning into...
She shouted at him. Begging him to stop. The cacophony surrounding him as his spiritual pressure skyrocketed drowned out her words; without the barrier up, she would be instantly crushed and asphyxiate. Wasn't that how I killed that Quincy squad leader? Bah, I can never remember.
Sweet Nanao-chan, I'm so sorry.
Katen Kyokotsu laughed, the harshness echoing out with his own voice. "Stirring, Brother. Moving. Isn't this the way it was meant to be? Oh, yes, all those memories. There... right there! YES." The atmosphere, the very sky, seemed to collapse in on itself and something moved. Not even called and his Bankai was trying to claw through reality. It was like an inverted entity had come up from a place where everything was incorrect and it was dragging the whole of creation down into a spiraling drain of demonic absurdity. Whatever the opposite of hope and joy was, it boiled the field and beyond. Insanity, madness, the stuff of macabre tales carried on the wind, scarring the future of the entire forest around them. For years, there would be a dark presence here. The grass would die, the trees refuse to blossom wholly. No animals would graze on these lands. Such was the way of his terrible power, the disfiguring ability of his sword.
Shunsui could just make out his Nanao-chan, stifled behind her shield. She was feeling it, now, no doubt. All his emotions were a whirlwind, a part of the very weapon he was summoning.
Old Man. Jushiro. Nanao-chan. Yachiru. A clash of blades. The laughter of children. Mastery of flash step. Sasikabe scarring Yamamoto. Lisa. Nanao-chan. Regiments of fine, honorable soldiers.
Every piece of goodness now twisted around the mind's eye, delirious dreams made flesh and unbound again and again.
Games! His swords roared. How we love to play this game and dance on the bones of the sliced and skewered and dying. Yes, Brother, YES. LET HER SEE WHAT SITS IN YOUR CHEST, WHAT YOU DREAM OF. SHOW LOVELY NANAO-CHAN OUR GAMES. MAYBE SHE WILL FIND THE BOTTOM OF A BOTTLE, TOO! A PAIR OF SAD DRUNKS TO DIE TOGETHER. JOUSHI! Or maybe we'll play haikan with Jushiro? Kaerichuu for Lisa! HOW MANY CAN YOU KILL TONIGHT?! LAST TIME IT WAS THREE HUNDRED QUINCY IN A HEARTBEAT! TASATSU! TASATSU!
With a thundering finality born on the lives of a thousand dying men, his vocal cords blasted the phrase out, searing his brain with the hazardous and ridiculous combination of euphoria and necrotic blackness.
"BANKAI."
And Hell followed.
He came back to the now, black liquid flowing out of his pupil and from beneath his patch. Around him, the environment was already receding. Trees were bent back, as if begging for the light of day to heal them. Patches of grass were brown and withered, and even the dirt seemed to slowly shift, distorted by whatever entity had briefly walked on land.
Nanao held his head in her lap. She was crying.
They always cry.
"Shun-... Soutaichou..."
He reached for her hand and squeezed.
"...I don't know..."
Shunsui, his throat cracking, locked his fingers with her. "Can you ever love a man with that inside him, Nanao-chan?"
They sat like that for hours. Evening turned to early morning. Nanao cried, wholly incapable of dealing with what she saw. Better than Juu's reaction. Poor guy didn't leave Fourth Division for a week.
Sometime after what Shunsui knew to be breakfast, she finally said the words that he would remember well after their wedding. He'd remember it when their firstborn was brought into this world. And their second. Fourth. Sixth. When they graduated from the Academy, he would still remember.
Nanao wiped her tears and held his face. "Shunsui, that was everything wrong with our world. The fact you are... you... and have that... nothingness... in your soul tells me everything I need to know. How could I love anyone else?" She adjusted her glasses and flattened her hair. "There are several ways I could disrupt your Bankai, I think."
"Lovely Nanao-chan, will you marr-"
She slapped his head. "Old fool. We have a war to win. And, remember, I may have to kill that horrible thing you just showed me."
If only I were so lucky.
Author's Note: A little disjointed and rushed, I know. This is inspired by two things. First, Ukitake commenting that Shunsui should not release his Bankai where others can see it (during the Fake Karakura Town Battle Royale). Second, the new Captain-Commander, being the literal strategist he is, would not allow his Bankai, if stolen, to run rampant without someone (besides Jushiro, whose health is iffy) being aware of what it can do. Nanao is a soldier, despite their antics, and her willingness to outright murder Chad during the Ryoka Invasion shows that she has what it takes to just kido someone into oblivion.
Shunsui's Bankai is disturbing because his Shikai is. Imagine, if you will, Hisagi had those games to play. Shunsui's character hides the very dark nature of making children's games lethally real. I left the Bankai here vague, but, on the level, it must be fairly awful.
Bakudo 81, Danku (Splitting Void) has no known incantation. I made it up, stealing from a few other spells and working it around a general theme. If you don't recall, Nanao is a kido-expert.
"Joushi" means "double love suicide," or otherwise a suicide pact between lovers. "Haikan" translates as lung disease, which is proper since Katen is trying to insult Ukitake. "Kaerichuu" is an act of betrayal. "Tasatsu" is murder, since it is clear that Shunsui was present and participating in the Quincy's destruction. Obviously, these are not real games, just nightmare-ish fantasies of a taunting and obscene Zanpakuto.
A huge thanks to Matsumama and Red Dahlia, both of whom are sources of pondering inspiration about Shunsui, Nanao, and the nature of Seireitei and the Bleach spirit world.
Well, thanks for reading! R&R
PS - I didn't use it, but I came up with a name for his Bankai, as well as the ability. If Tite does not reveal it in the manga, I will edit to include it.