To Steal From Thieves

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters within.

A/N: This is the first fanfiction I ever wrote and I am not quite confident with my writing abilities. Also I have to tell you that English is not my native language so I am really happy for any advice and it would be nice if someone can take a look at my grammar.


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Chapter One: Introduction

It was still dark outside. The sun didn't see the need to rise above the horizon yet and the only sound you could hear through the morning mist was the soft tapping of footsteps. Slowly but surely Nanami made her way through the forest. Her feet nearly never touched the ground beneath. Only her footprints gave away that she even was there. From time to time she would slow down her pace and take a look at the plants that surrounded her. This time in the morning was just perfect to collect some herbs.

Nanami was not voluntarily an early riser, but for her it were moments of calmness and order. It was like a ritual to start the day early and collect some herbs for her employer. She would enjoy as much time as she could get in the woods before she had to go to work. The ground was still very humid this morning and slowed her down nevertheless she found what she was looking for. There on the ground were some common sages she used for a special tea against a sore throat. With a swift movement of her wrist Nanami stuffed some of the sages in her backpack and continued her daily stroll.

There were only two hours left before work and she had to hurry or else she would be late again. She increased her pace. Her puce hair that was held together in a loose ponytail, flattered behind. Her hair always seemed to adapt depending on the time of the day. In the night it was a dark brown but under the light of the sun it seemed to change its colour to a brighter hue with a red glimmer. Due to the lack of time this morning her dark eyes were fixed on the path in front of her. She already knew this part of the woods by heart. After all she lived here for the last five years and had memorized every single herb-spot. Yuudai-san won't be too angry if I collect some more herbs for his ointments. It'll only take some more minutes.


Himura Yuudai waited patiently. His muscular back leant against one of the walls of his pharmacy. From his appearance you would guess that he was an experienced warrior and not an owner of a pharmacy shop. His unruly and short grey hair fell loosely against his shoulders. He wore a traditional headband to keep his hair out of his sight and out of his medicine. He bought the little shop about three decades ago and was very proud of it. Most of the inhabitants of the lower districts would visit him when they were in need of medicine or ointments. He was a well known man in these parts of Soul Society. Of course in the first years there were some troubles now and then. Many of the forceful intrusions had ended with a shattered glass or two. He had received numerous threats from unknown persons and it was way too often that someone would just burst into his shop and demand medicine. After all, this was the 62th district of Soul Society. Sure it was not that bad like in the 78th or 74th district but even here thieves and murderers were nothing out of the ordinary. In this time he was really grateful for his appearance. His tall figure, muscular arms and the angry glare forced such intruders to take flight.

Yuudai stretched his arms and legs and prepared to get ready for work. He knew that Nanami would be late again but he wasn't angry at all. The later she arrived here the better – not because she was bad in what she was doing, but because she had a good sense for herb-collecting and an even better knowledge about herbs in general. It was quite a habit of her to come in later and collect some herbs for him in the morning. With one hand Yuudai gathered his instruments for the ointment production. Some tubes and containers were already laid out on the large table so he only added sharp blades and a masher. Just in this moment he heard a knock on the door.

"Good morning, Yuudai-san, its Nanami-san. May I enter?" Nanami asked politely.

"Baka. You don't have to ask after two years of working for me." Was the direct answer from Nanami's employer.

"I'm sorry for being late, Yuudai-san. I was a little bit deeper inside the woods this morning and tried to collect some rare herbs. And at least I was successful." She informed with a small smile and a sparkle in her eyes.

She settled her backpack on the nearby working space and pulled out three bags. In the first one Yuudai could see the well known Salvia officinalis or common sage. He would recognize these pedals even when he was asleep. The white till violet coloured pedals were arranged in a panicle at each plant and made it easy to differentiate the common sage from the rarer sages. But nonetheless the common sage was a really useful plant and Yuudai couldn't store enough of it. After all they were in the 62th district und medicine already was a rare good. The second bag and third bag contained Turmeric and Zedoary. Both were really special herbs. Normally they would be used as spices but with some ingredients they could become a really good medicine for digestive or liver problems. Yuudai stared in amazement at the great amount of herbs that Nanami laid down at the table. He was impressed to say the least. Turmeric and Zedoary were highly requested herbs for the higher ups in Soul Society and the medicine would bring in a great amount of money too. Not that he was in need of the money but in these districts of Soul Society nobody could earn enough money to pay for such herbs.

"I don't know how you make it. I didn't even know that these herbs grew inside this forest of yours." A slightly confused look was plastered on the face of the middle aged man.

Sometimes he simply had no clue what to make out of Nanami. As far as he knew there was only a secluded small area in the middle of the forest near the 79th district were you could get this herbs an the only reason you could get them there was because of the tropical conditions. But by all means Nanami was not a Shinigami and couldn't use shunpo. So there was no way in hell that she went there and back to the 62th district within one day.

"Do not think that much of it, Yuudai-san. I can assure you that I have really good eyes and as you know I can be quite fast too if I want."

As usually Nanami wouldn't tell Yuudai-san where she found these special herbs. Once he asked her where she found them but she only answered that it was her little secret. After that he never asked her again. For both of them it was a fair trade. After all he never told her all his special recipes for medicine and Nanami never pursued that matter at all. It was a quiet understanding between the two of them.

"Yuudai-san, do you think it is possible that I get a day off? I want to look after Tomoko and Isamu at the orphanage and bring them their medicine."

Nanami wasn't quite sure if she would get the day off but normally her employer was a really grateful man and now was a good opportunity to ask. She was certain that he could finish this medicine without her help. Yuudai-san anticipated that question already. After all he was working with Nanami for over two years and knew that Nanami had a weakness for kids especially for the kids at the nearby orphanage. He looked the young woman over with a contemplative gaze. Her head was tilted slightly in expectance of his answer and her dark eyes held a pleading look. She was way to kind for her own good. He let out a sigh and finally agreed.

"Of course you can take the next day off but try not to be late the day after tomorrow. We already started late today and when I am alone tomorrow too there will be a lot of work to do." You better make sure that you are in time. His gaze took a slightly menacing note as if to underline this statement.

It was a case of give and take. Nanami and Yuudai were a good team. In exchange for her days off, Yuudai normally received some rare herbs from Nanami or sometimes Nanami would babysit his two little daughters Katsumi and Akemi. The two little girls were his greatest pride and honour and he loved them dearly. Not to forget his beloved wife Mai. You could say that Yuudai was a really lucky man with a small family and his own shop. But normally he separated work from his private business and it was better that way. At the beginning his wife was really furious when he hired Nanami. He often told her that there was nothing to worry about but even now his wife was a little bit cautious with his assistant. It was not that he couldn't understand his wife. After all Nanami was a really beautiful woman. Slender in her appearance with long limbs and peach coloured skin she moved with a gracefulness he never had seen before. It was like her body and mind were in complete harmony. For him it looked like every step she took was well considered. But the most fascinating thing about this woman was her ability to work with people. It intrigued him to no end how she managed to calm down furious customers. A subtle smile here and some calming words there and even the powerful men in this district became quiet and communicative. But as much as Nanami impressed him from time to time as much did he love his dear wife and children. For his beloved family he would do everything even when it would cost him his life.

Suddenly Yuudai only saw someone's hand in front of his face and he recognized that he had stared for quite some time at his assistant.

"I really owe you for this. I will make it up to you, I swear." Nanami said with a small smile on her face.

"If you are that eager to do something for me you can babysit Katsumi and Akemi next Thursday. My wife and I want to celebrate our anniversary and it would be nice if the kids would not be around all the time."

"That is no problem. Katsumi and Akemi are really nice and they both make it an enjoyable task to look after them."

Nanami liked those kids. They were lively and happy little kids with parents whom loved them dearly and would do everything for them. Whenever Nanami saw those two little girls play tag or hide and seek she could feel that there is hope even in the lower districts. Hope. For many people it was only a word, but for Nanami it was like a mission. Maybe she simply had seen too many people, especially kids, who lost their life because they couldn't find anything to eat or even worse who killed each other for a leaf of bread. One might think that Soul Society was the place were souls were able to rest and live in harmony their afterlife in harmony, but for many people in the lower district Soul Society was even worse than hell itself. Thoughts of cold, hunger and the menacing glares from men on the street flooded her mind. For kids it was even harder. Most of them had nobody to hold on and they where thrown into a brutal world where the only chance you have is to murder or rob. It was the cruel truth about that place. The only chance to escape from that kind of life was to become a Shinigami – a Death God or to marry someone in the higher districts of Soul Society.

For a moment Yuudai could see the dark shadows that loomed above Nanami. Even though her thoughts were inwards the frown on her face gave away that it was nothing pleasant she was thinking about.

"Whats the matter with that gloomy face of yours? Shouldn't you be happy to get the day off?" Maybe she isn't that happy to babysit my little girls.

"It is nothing at all and it surely has nothing to do with your two girls." With that Nanami went back to work and started to fiddle with one of the tubes and a scissor. Sometimes it was really hard for her not to show every single emotion on her face. Even though she had gotten better in that matter sometimes she couldn't chase the shadows away that hung over her.

... tbc ...


A/N: In the first Chapter I only want to give some impressions how Nanami lives and what her daily routine looks like. In the next Chapter Nanami will visite the orphanage. I thought that maybe there are too many OC's in that Chapter but they are all really important for the storyplot.