It was night, and Ise Nanao looked up from her desk. Where did all the time go, she thought, as she pushed up her spectacles. Then again, she had been busy with paperwork, even more so now, with every taicho out of Seireitei. As a fuku, she had been busy, together with the other fuku who were left behind.
Nanao rose from her desk, and made her way to the courtyard. The crescent moon beamed down on her. Such a sight, she thought. If her taicho was around, he would most probably be drinking sake and admiring the scene, maybe alongside his best friend. Nanao could never understand how Ukitake-taicho could stand her taicho's outrageous ways, or for that matter, how SHE coped with him...Nanao's mind wandered to another friend. A friend whom she had not seen for a hundred years, not since that night, where the moon was as bright as the one which she was looking at now.
Yadomaru-fuku-taicho...Truth be told, Nanao seldom thought of her since her disappearance. Officially, Yadomaru had been branded a traitor for acquiring hollow powers. But, Nanao never believed a word of it. She didn't believe it back when she was still a little girl, and she didn't believe it now. Her taicho apparently agreed with that. Nanao thought that Ukitake-taicho's decision not to find a replacement for Shiba Kaien after his death was influenced by her taicho's own not to find a replacement for Yadomaru... until Nanao became of age to "take over", as Shunsui himself put it.
Nanao looked at herself. Unconsciously, she had modeled herself after Yadomaru, right down to the glasses and her rough handling of her taicho, although she must admit that she had only heard of the second part from gossip among the other members of the division. To Nanao, Yadomaru was like a gentle onesan; her bookreading sessions was something Nanao always looked forward to as a kid. Yadomaru's bright smile at the beginning and end of each session remained in her memories.
Ise Nanao sighed as she took in the moonlight.
"Fuku-taicho, are you still well?"
Over at Karakura Town...
Yadomaru Lisa was in the midst of another josei manga. She had began the volume earlier in the day. However, even by her high standards, the volume proved to be so addictive that she couldn't stop even for a second. Even Hirako Shinji gave up trying to get her to join the rest for dinner. Since war was coming, Shinji decided to have her on the graveyard shift for sentry duty, figuring that she couldn't sleep anyway.
The vizard knew that the time had come. They sensed the sleeping spell which was cast on the town (and which they resisted successfully). They could also sense the reiatsu building up in the surroundings. Lisa knew that she was back in Soul Society. However, the vizard wouldn't show themselves, at least not yet.
Even as the vizard hid their reiatsu, Lisa detected many familiar traces far away. She could only hope that given the situation, her former taicho would not have noticed her reiatsu. Then again, he was never fazed by anything, thought Lisa. She looked up at the sky. Despite being a crescent moon, it was still bright enough for her to read using its light. She couldn't help but remember a little girl, a girl whom she didn't get the chance to say goodbye...
Lisa remembered the very first time she set eyes upon Ise Nanao. Unusual for her age, the little girl was already a full member of the division. Also, her thick glasses seemed too big for her face. But, Lisa saw potential in the young one. She had doubts about Nanao's skills with the blade, but when it comes to spells, the girl should be all right, she thought. With some luck, she might become a fuku herself...
Realising what she was thinking of, Lisa laughed at herself. Why were her thoughts on someone who might have already forgotten about her? Her life as the Eighth Division's fuku-taicho was now a distant memory, further dimmed by the injustice she and her companions suffered. Yet, somehow, she had faith in Shunsui, as ridiculous as that may sound. After all, unlike his own sensei, the taicho saw that sometimes, rules can be bent. She remembered his many advances, and wondered if Nanao could handle him as well as she did. To be fair to Shunsui, the man never had an ill word for anyone, and his advice could be counted on, at least most of the time.
As for Nanao, she should have blossomed into a beautiful lady, thought Lisa. She looked down at the manga volume in her hand. Back then, she would never even think of reading such stuff to the young girl. The other vizards knew very well that even in exile, she still stayed up for a night every month to read something serious. She hoped that her taicho had taken good care of Nanao. Even though they would almost certainly be enemies if they meet again, Lisa still wanted to see for herself how the little girl had turned out. She took off her glasses, and looked up into the night sky.
"Nanao-chan, are you well?"
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!