AN: Hey everyone, I was inspired a while back to write this fic but unfortunately I didn't have much time to do it. But here it is now. I apologize for any mistakes you might find. I don't have a beta and I wanted to post this before I left for work today. (If you do find some mistakes, feel free to point them out to me. I don't mind.)

Enjoy!


Chapter One:
Secret of Mine


His Nanao-chan had been acting strangely during the past week or so. True, she continued to be the Epitome of Efficiency and upheld her title as Queen of Organization well enough but something was off...

She had been avoiding him, more than usual. Anytime he walked into a room, she found an excuse to leave it. And whenever he would go off on one of his sake-drinking missions during the day, she didn't follow and bring him back like she used to do. And if she couldn't escape his presence, she seemed… almost jittery. Just a couple of days ago, he had went to put a friendly arm around her shoulders, something he would do to anyone in his squad, and she not only jumped out of the way but knocked into a desk upsetting several files of paperwork.

Around other people, he noticed she seemed mostly normal. Her voice sometimes came out a bit harsher these days when delegating orders to squad members, but even so, he noticed that she would take the potentially offended squad member aside and apologize afterwards for her behavior. Yet around him, she acted completely different. She acted like a nervous doe unsure if the approaching person was going to harm her. Shunsui didn't like the idea that his beloved Nanao-chan feared something; he especially didn't like the idea that what she feared was him. And so, after a week of Nanao-chan running avoidance maneuvers 101, Shunsui decided to take action. He would seek her out.

"My lovely Nanao-chan!" he shouted exuberantly upon walking into her neatly organized office. She sat at her desk in the center of the room rapidly filling out forms. "Yes, taichō?" she replied without even glancing at him. Shunsui frowned in disappointment; he was losing Nanao's attention to a stack of paperwork. 'Well, at least she hasn't tried to leave the room yet,' he thought with a wry grin.

"My dear, sweet Nanao-chan," he began again before pausing. And continuing to pause. The silence lasted long enough for Nanao's shoulders to tighten with annoyance and for her hand to grip the pen until her knuckles turned white. 'Success,' he thought gleefully, 'I much prefer an annoyed Nanao-chan ready to hit me than one who runs from my presence.'

"Yes, taichō?" she finally prompted, eyes still looking at the paper before her.

"How is my lovely Nanao-chan today?" he asked, barely managing to withhold a smirk as his Fukitaichō's ki rose in aggravation. She was just so cute when the muscle above her left eye began to twitch ever so slightly.

Meanwhile, Nanao took a deep breath in, a method she had learned to prevent yelling in frustration at her captain. She then adjusted her glasses, a warning sign to her persistant captain that he was irritating her. But the fear at the gesture was soon forgotten when she finally lifted her pretty violet eyes to look at him when she spoke. "Is that all you came down to ask or was there something else more pertinent? Division related matters, perhaps?"

"What could be more important than my dear Nanao-chan's health and well-being? My lovely Nanao-chan is…"

"I'm fine, Taicho," she replied quickly resuming her paperwork once more. She found that the quicker she answered his questions, rhetorical or not, the more focused the conversation would be. After all, her captain did have a tendency to become slightly long-winded when speaking of anything related to beauty, saké, or "his" Nanao-chan. Not to mention, if he thought she was busy, he might leave faster.

"But Nanao-chan…"

So much for that theory. "Kyōraku-taichō, I said I was fine. Now if there isn't anything else, I would prefer to be able to finish this paperwork sometime this afternoon," she said giving him a look as if waiting to see if he would contradict her once again. Instead, he just shook his head in (mostly) mock-sadness.

"Yare, yare. So cruel. Alright, as you wish my Nanao-chan, I shall leave you in peace."

She nodded, and went back to filling out forms. Thirty seconds later when she looked up, he still hadn't moved. Instead, he continued to stare at her with chocolate brown eyes that seemed to be a mixture of sadness and determination. "Yes, taichō?" she said setting down the pen. She folded her hands together on the desktop to give him her complete attention.

"I will leave, but only if my sweet Nanao-chan promises that if there is ever a problem or something troubling her, she will come to me immediately."

"Of course, taichō," she said nodding affirmatively. He smiled in response – a slow, languorous smile that stretched from left ear to right; the kind that warm a person's insides by just looking at it, a smile that truly reflected his beautiful but lazy personality.

Unfortunately, as he turned around to leave, he missed the wince she gave, a nervous tic she had every time she lied. 'Forgive me taichō,' Nanao thought as she watched her large, pink-clad captain walk away in his typical slow gait, 'but this is something I can never share with you.'