Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. Otherwise I wouldn't be here!
Warnings: This is an AU story – will be some ooc I'm sure!
Pairings: Mainly Shun/Nan, Issh/Mas
A/N: Many thanks to my beta, ForeverSam.
****I do want to point out that my beta has temporarily lost her internet connection at home and she cannot download at school so this chapter is unbeta'd (is that a word...lol) Anyways, I apologize for any errors.****
Misconception
By : akirk85029
Jyuushirou sat at his desk, his long fingers drumming lightly against the dark wood. He sighed as he leaned back into his chair and ran his other hand through his long, white hair. Jyuushirou caught the curious glance from his best friend who sat at the other desk in their shared office. Jyuushirou didn't understand why he was thinking so much about the past today.
Jyuushirou's attention was called to his computer when he heard that small beep that let him know he had new email. Jyuushirou frowned as another search for Nanao had ended in yet another dead end. He had no idea as to why she had left so suddenly, he only knew how it had affected his best friend.
The once laid-back, happy-go-lucky person that Shunsui was had disappeared along with Nanao. In his place was a serious and not very friendly Shunsui. Jyuushirou looked at the picture on his desk of his own girlfriend and wished that he had some way to help his best friend.
Shunsui had built this wall around himself and now no one could get in save Jyuushirou and that was only when Shunsui knew they were alone. Jyuushirou knew that Shunsui didn't even know why she had left, but he knew he had to find out what had happened or he felt that his friend would never recover.
Shunsui leaned back into his own chair and knew that his best friend was up to something. He moved his had to scratch the back of his neck and was momentarily stunned to find nothing in his way. He still forgot sometimes that he had cut all his hair off in an attempt to change everything, hoping that maybe Nanao would come back. He hadn't let that last nail be put in place on his coffin yet; he still held onto a small bit of hope that maybe there was something that could be done to fix whatever had happened.
"Jyuu what's wrong?" Shunsui finally asked after hearing the man sigh yet again.
"Nothing, I was just thinking." Jyuushirou responded without thinking.
Shunsui sharply turned his now closely-shaven face to Jyuushirou in surprise. No one had even come close to mentioning Nanao in his presence since he had verbally beaten a woman in front of the entire office three years ago. His broad shoulders sank a little as he realized it was getting close to hitting the five year mark. For some reason he knew he would see her before this time was up. He didn't understand why he felt this way, he just did. "Why?"
Jyuushirou raised a brow at the man wondering if he was trying to be facetious. He saw Shunsui's serious face and realized that he wanted to know why he was thinking of her. "Not sure I know really why."
Shunsui gave a slight nod and turned back to the file he was working on. This topic was better left alone. He didn't want to get sentimental at work, not now.
Jyuushirou saw the sadness reflected in his friend's eyes and wondered how long he was going to have to watch this stranger in his friend's body. Jyuushirou nearly jumped when his office line rang shrilly. He reached over and picked up phone.
Shunsui took a moment to relax and reminisce while Jyuushirou was on the phone. The reason he had insisted on sharing an office those many years ago was so that Jyuushirou could warn him when someone was coming so he could wake up from one of his infamous cat-naps. He thought about how his best friend got some sort of pleasure out of watching Nanao catch him asleep. He had called Jyuushirou several names after hearing his friend's laughter after Nanao had left from either yelling or hitting him out of slumber.
Jyuushirou had hung up the phone and looked solemnly over at Shunsui. He paused for a moment when he saw the ghost of a smile on Shunsui's face. He knew that Shunsui had to be thinking of Nanao. He thought about the first time Nanao had caught Shunsui asleep at his desk. He had truly not realized she was walking in as he had been so busy with the file he was working on. When he realized that she was in the office he sat and watched quietly wondering how she would react. He had watched her quietly walk up to Shunsui's antique desk and slowly place the pile of files on his desk and she continued over to her boss. He could tell she was frustrated, but he had not expected what came next. Nanao had leaned down, grabbed onto Shunsui's ear, and proceeded to yell into it. He had nearly doubled over in laughter as Shunsui gave a very unmanly yelp and landed rather ungracefully on the floor when he had thrown himself out of his chair. Jyuushirou watched as Nanao left the office with a satisfied grin and laughed as Shunsui called him a traitor.
Jyuushirou grunted as he stood up and stretched his long legs. He felt like he hadn't moved all day. He brushed his dark suit and moved to start gathering his things.
Shunsui was brought out of his reverie when he noticed that Jyuushirou was packing up. "Where are you going?"
Jyuushirou turned his head slightly. "Start shutting down, we're leaving."
Shunsui gave his friend a questioning glance and didn't start moving. He had work to do.
Jyuushirou realized that Shunsui still hadn't moved. He turned to face the man. "We're going to the hospital."
Shunsui sighed now. He didn't know what was going on, but if his friend needed him to go to the hospital with him then he would go. He stood up brushing non-existent wrinkles out of his light grey suit and started shutting everything down. The thought briefly crossed his mind that he hadn't left work before it was dark out in years.
Nanao finally finished scrubbing the entire house. She had moved back to this town after so long and mainly because her family told her that she needed to move back. She smiled softly as she looked around the small, cozy home and was happy that her brother had been generous enough to help her find the house.
Nanao moved over to start placing books on the bookshelves as she worked to try and finish unpacking everything. She had left the country nearly five years ago and even though she had been back barely a week her mind had already started drifting back to Shunsui. She hadn't dated after she had left, she couldn't let anyone that close to her again. She had thought he was the one, hell she knew he was the one and she still loved him though it hurt to even think about what she had seen.
Nanao hadn't wanted to fall in love when she had started working for Shunsui, she hadn't wanted a lot of things, but she mused that things never go according to plan. She knew that more than ever now.
Nanao briefly stopped shelving books as her doorbell rang. She brushed her now long hair back and tried to re-tie it into a smoother ponytail, but it was failing her. She heard the door open and several sets of footsteps walk in. She knew who was at the door.
Nanao raised a brow as Isshin walked into the room.
"Didn't you hear the door?" Isshin asked and then stopped when he saw his sister in a pair of light gray shorts and a white tank top. He hadn't seen Nanao this casual in a long time. She had always been so prim and proper growing up. They were half-siblings, sharing the same mother but different fathers. He had always wanted her to be herself, but he never truly understood her reserved nature, but guessed his step-father had something to do with it. That man was as cold as his last name. Although Isshin hated to think it, he was glad that their parents were no longer around. They had died not too long after his twins had been born.
"I did, but apparently you are still too impatient to wait for someone to answer it before entering!" Nanao retorted, smiling when she saw her brother narrow his eyes.
Isshin was about to reply when he noticed the sad look in Nanao's eyes. Isshin was glad to have his sister back and wanted to help. "I still don't think you saw what you did!"
Nanao rolled her eyes at her brother, ever always the matchmaker. They have had this conversation before. She chose to ignore the comment and then noticed Isshin's black dress pants and crisp bright blue shirt. "Are you and Masaki going out?"
Isshin smiled brightly and took a few steps forward, his shoes squeaking slightly on the polished hardwood floors. "Well after the play of course, if you wouldn't mind babysitting the twins, pretty please?"
Nanao turned away and started shelving books again. She stopped though when she felt Isshin's hand on top of hers stopping her from lifting anymore large books.
"You are too much like your dad sometimes!" Isshin declared trying to lighten the mood.
Nanao smiled finally. "I hope Masaki knows about your condition!"
Isshin rolled his eyes and took a step forward. "Masaki knows about all of my conditions!" Isshin stated with mischief evident in his voice.
Nanao nearly choked on her own breath and then started laughing. She could hear Isshin chuckling along side her. They both stopped though when Ichigo walked into the room.
"What is so funny?" Ichigo asked and then had a feeling he truly didn't want to know what his father was going on about.
Isshin turned to his teenage son and gave a wicked smile. "I was talking about…." Isshin stopped abruptly when Nanao whacked him upside the head with a thick book.
Ichigo silently thanked his aunt Nanao and was grateful that someone in his family was normal.
Nanao smiled and turned to her brother who was looking at her as if he couldn't believe what she had just done. Nanao knew without a doubt that her brother and Shunsui would get along ridiculously well if they ever met. "Sorry, it's an automatic reflex!"
Isshin gave her a studious glance as he tried to figure something out.
Nanao looked around and found the small clock hanging on her wall and gasped. She hadn't realized it was so late. "You two go ahead and let everyone know I will be there. I will be ten minutes behind you!"
"Are you sure? We can wait." Isshin asked after seeing Nanao start rushing, feeling a little guilty since he had gotten off track his-self, which really wasn't too hard for him.
"No go, I'll be fine." Nanao ordered as she ran up the stairs to hop in the shower real quick.
Jyuushirou walked into the brightly lit waiting room and looked around. He pointed out a seat to Shunsui and ordered him sit and wait for him. Jyuushirou walked briskly up to the reception area where several nurses were seated and asked a few questions.
Shunsui gave his friend a dubious look when he was ordered to sit but decided not to argue at the moment since he looked a little upset about something. Shunsui sat down in the hard blue plastic chair and looked around the large room. He was relieved to notice that there were not too many people in the room. He leaned back against the chair trying to find a comfortable position.
Jyuushirou walked into the private room and nearly gasped at what he saw. He walked closer to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He couldn't believe it. It was Nanao. She was lying in this hospital room, bandaged oddly enough almost like a mummy. "Nanao?"
"She can't respond." Isshin stated before walking into Jyuushirou's line of vision.
"Is she still sedated?" Jyuushirou asked hoping that whatever had happened wasn't too serious. He prayed it wasn't.
"Well, yes, but that's not why she won't respond. She's in a coma." Isshin said softly before sitting down next to his sister with his head bowed. "Jyuushirou Ukitake, I presume."
Jyuushirou nodded his head in the affirmative. How was he supposed to tell Shunsui about this? "What happened?"
"She was running late, she said she would only be ten minutes behind us. I knew we should have waited. It wasn't her fault though, that guy just ran the red light. She never made it to the play on time." Isshin finally stated guiltily.
Jyuushirou felt bad for the man, he was clearly beating himself up over this incident. "How do you know Nanao?"
Isshin gave a hollow laugh. "She's my sister. I'm Isshin Kurosaki, by the way. I called you. Your name and number was written on the back of a card in her purse. I don't know if she told you yet, I think that's what she came back here to do." Isshin stopped talking and looked back down at his sister's still form, listening to the machine that monitored her heartbeat.
Jyuushirou gave Isshin a confused look as he walked up to the other side of the bed. "I think you have me confused with someone…." Jyuushirou stopped when the door opened and two people entered.
Masaki walked into the room and saw her husband talking to a man with long, white hair and grasped her niece's hand as she led her forward.
"Uncle Isshin, is mommy going to be okay now?" The little girl asked grasping onto her aunt's hand tightly as she faced her uncle.
Jyuushirou stared at the little girl as Isshin tried to give her comfort. He knew part of the reason why Nanao had left now. He studied the little girl and knew that even if Shunsui had wanted to, there was no way he could deny that this little girl was his.
The little girl had turned her head to the stranger in the room. She still held onto her aunt's hand as she asked the stranger a question.
Jyuushirou coughed in shock and turned his head. When the spasm in his lungs stopped, he turned back around to face the girl's big blue eyes. "What?"
"Are you my daddy?" The girl asked again, not at all deterred by the man's shocked look.
Jyuushirou kneeled down in front of the girl. "No, but I do know who your daddy is!" Jyuushirou said softly.
Jyuushirou raised himself up and turned his attention to Isshin. "I need to go talk to someone really quick. I'll be right back."
Isshin nodded his head and watched the man walk quietly out of the room. He turned his head to Masaki and his niece. He held his arms out and smiled softly as the little girl ran into his arms for comfort.
Shunsui stood up when he saw Jyuushirou leave a room and start heading his way. He knew something was wrong with the way he was looking at him. "What's going on?" Shunsui demanded when Jyuushirou was close enough to hear him.
"Shunsui, I think you need to prepare yourself for what you are about to see!" Jyuushirou started.
"Jyuu, what could be so upsetting to you?" Shunsui asked concerned, hoping nothing was wrong with his friend's girlfriend. He hadn't seen Jyuushirou be serious with someone in a long time.
Jyuushirou took a deep breath. "It's Nanao…"
Before Jyuushirou could even utter another word, Shunsui was already racing down the hall to the room where he had seen Jyuushirou exit. Shunsui paused for a brief second and then pushed the door open and stepped in.
A/N : Okay - like I need to be starting another story:) Oh well, I finally had to start writing on it. It took me a little while to figure out who could be Nanao's family - so hopefully it works out well!!:) Oooh....I just had an idea too!! Awesome!!:) Anyways, please review and let me know what you think and if I should continue!!:) Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day yesterday!!:)