"I am, Ise-fukutaicho." Ukitake smiled gently.
"Can you do me a favor?"
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Lying peacefully on the roof of the 8th Division headquarters were several empty bottles of sake, rolling back and forth slightly on the terra-cotta tiles. Jyuushiro and Shunsui sat next to them, admiring the magnificent sunset; however, they're not important. What's much more important is that those bottles are empty. Which (naturally) brings much distress to the otherwise peaceful setting.
"Jyuu-chan, the sake is gone! Why is the sake always gone?!" Shunsui's eyes were filled with liquid chocolate, the immense sadness pouring off his reiatsu like a tsunami. Everyone within the 30 mile vicinity snorted and hid their sake bottles.
The alleged Jyuu-chan twisted his head twenty degrees to avoid the kicked Shunsui-dog eyes and sighed.
"Because you drink it, Shunsui. All of it. And no, I won't go get you more. Anyway, I have a question for you."
"A question, Jyuu-chan?" Shunsui looked at Ukitake curiously, momentarily diverted from his persuit of alcohol. "Whatever would you ask from me?"
"Someone asked me to ask you this today. While I may or may not agree with the question being asked, I want your honest answer."
"Okay, Jyuu-chan. Why the long face? It's just a question."
"Why do you continuously insist on calling Ise-fukutaicho beautiful?" Kyoraku blinked and looked confused.
"Because she is," he shrugged, and glanced mournfully back at the sake.
"The question continues," Ukitake said quietly, regretfully, "when she A) doesn't appreciate it, B) refuses to believe it, and C) it isn't true?"
Time seemed to freeze for a moment on the rooftop, replacing the earlier contentment with the hostile atmosphere of a battleground. Then Kyoraku stood, hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou, reiatsu starting to flow over, and asked carefully in a measured tone,
"Who asked you that?" Shunsui looked dangerous, Ukitake noted. Mad. And that was quite a feat of execution. When was the last time peaceful, gentle Shunsui had been so furious?
"Who, Ukitake?" His eyes had gone from lazily brown gold to melted chocolate to ice, Jyuushiro noted, a drastic change. Surely it would have been better appreciated by -ehrm- other people, but even to Jyuushiro the change was startling.
"A little bird," he said after momentary hesitation. "Now, calm down, please, or Nanao will be disturbed by your reiatsu." At the merest mention of the woman working diligently below them, Shunsui relaxed his grip on his sword, his eyes softened slightly, and he slid back down next to his longtime friend.
"Jyuu, do you remember when Yama-ji told us that if one hears a lie often enough, they believe it?"
"Yeah, during that propaganda class we took second year."
"I very much hope the reverse is also true; that if Nanao hears the truth often enough she'll start to believe it." Listening through the skylight, Nanao blinked. Analyzed the implications of every word. Blinked again, and then she returned to her paperwork. And when Kyoraku-taicho returned, she made him do his paperwork. Even though it was 'Such a beautiful night, Nanao-chan! Pretty Nanao-chan, you have to come and see!'
Later, though, when she was alone, staring at the stars, her book open in her hands, sitting on her bed, she smiled. Shunsui was so... so... amazing. Did he even understand? No, probably not. Understanding requires thinking, which was not a very common habit for Kyoraku-taicho. Oh, well. She loved him anyway.
The night really was spectacular.
OMAKE!
Ukitake returned early the next morning and was unsurprised to find a note on his desk, His name scrawled in meticulous cursive.
A little bird might want to tell taicho that it does work. Just a suggestion. Thank you very much, Ukitake-taicho. Oh! But... could you do me another favor?
Jyuushiro just grinned at the note.