Disclaimer: I don't own bleach or any of its characters.
Ch. 1
Standing outside the office door, Nanao squared her shoulders and reached for the doorknob. Today was her first day as Kyouraku-sama's personal assistant and she was prepared for anything he could dish out. She opened the door and walked into the empty office. She had purposely gotten in an hour early so that she would have time to acclimate to the new atmosphere.
Sitting down at the desk that she assumed was hers, as it was the only one that wasn't occupied with personal knick-knacks, she explored the drawers to see what kind of work would be waiting for her today. Almost immediately she found a day-timer that had Kyouraku-sama's meetings for the day written in it. Nanao found herself perplexed. There was nothing scheduled before 10:30am and nothing after 4:00pm on any day of any week that she flipped to. Curious, Nanao set the book aside and decided that would be the first thing she would ask Kyouraku-sama when he got in. Perhaps there was another book or record somewhere.
Nanao turned to another stack of papers and started up her computer so that she could get a head-start on the day. Shortly, she was typing away on her keyboard, tallying up expenses and performing the many other various tasks that now were assigned to her. The minutes ticked by quickly and soon the other employees slowly started to trickle in. It was at that moment that Nanao realized she would have her work cut out for her; more than half of her co-workers arrived late, and about a quarter of the desks weren't occupied at all until 9:45. The most notable absence of course, was that of her new boss. His office was still unoccupied by 9:30, and at 10:15 Nanao decided to reschedule his 10:30 appointment. At 10:45 she started asking her coworkers if they knew where their boss was.
Frustrated, fifteen minutes later she sat back at her desk. This obviously wasn't going to be her day. The first person she had asked just laughed and walked away as if she'd said something funny. The second cryptically said, "It's not noon yet", and so it went until on her fifth try she got a straight answer from an excessively well-endowed woman by the name of Matsumoto Rangiku. Apparently Kyouraku-sama was never expected in before 10:30 and 11:30 was well within the realm of the possible.
Nanao quite suddenly realized why no one had outlasted the 4 month mark. She'd been here less than five hours and already her stress level was higher than it had been in...well...years at least. Annoyed Nanao decided she was going to have to take matters in her own hands. By 11:00 she had contacted Kyouraku-sama's last three assistants, had Kyouraku-sama's home phone number, cell phone, home address, and the numbers of all known acquaintances copied down in her Blackberry.
Shortly after this the man in question strolled through the door practically radiating good cheer as he stopped beside her desk.
Nanao quickly stood and introduced herself, "I'm Nanao Ise. I'm your new assistant."
"Ah, of course you are! Jushiro mentioned that he would be sending someone my way. It's astonishing that he never mentioned how lovely you would be!"
"I appreciate the compliment sir, but I'm not entirely comfortable with such unprofessional behavior" Nanao said, slightly discombobulated by the unexpected reply.
"My Nanao-chan is so modest! As if I could meet a woman as wondrous as she without making a comment. However, if such things make her uncomfortable I will do my best to restrain my admiration."
"Kyouraku-sama, I'd very much prefer it if you refrained from taking liberties with my name as I'd very much rather you didn't call me Nanao-chan."
"And more restrictions! I confess I am quite confused; I thought you said your name was Nanao. No matter, I'll simply have to apologize with a kiss to make amends for my behaviour!" Kyouraku-sama replied, leaning in and setting his left hand on the desk beside her.
Nanao panicked and her mind raced trying to think of an escape route. She took a step back, and as his face neared hers she frantically reached behind her trying to find a weapon. Coming up with the day-timer she quickly put it between his face and hers successfully stopping his advance.
"So cold Nanao-chan! I was only trying to apologize" Kyouraku-sama said as he pulled back with a disappointed expression on his face.
"Sir, please do not address me as Nanao-chan, and kissing your subordinate would be highly improper," Nanao said, stepping back. Opening the day-timer as if that had been her intent all along, she flipped to the current date.
"Since you weren't in on time for your first appointment I rescheduled for 2:00pm. It's imperative that you be on time for this meeting as that is the only time I could reschedule for. I have also arranged the proper forms and contracts for you to sign and put them on your desk," Nanao stated as she adjusted her glasses, using the recitation to get her nerves under control.
"My Nanao-chan is so organized! I'll just take a quick lunch and be back later to fill out those forms!" was Kyouraku-sama's reply as he quickly backpedalled towards the door, exiting as promptly as he had arrived and leaving Nanao sputtering in his wake.
Nanao narrowed her eyes. Kyouraku-sama was seriously underestimating her if he thought that he could escape so easily. Nanao steeled her resolve and prepared herself for what was shaping up to be a fight of titanic proportions.
This is my very first story so reviews and suggestions would be very much appreciated! My express thanks to CrazyNinjaPenguin for beta-ing the story and the immensely helpful suggestions.