Chapter Title: Ambition

Author: FactVsFiction

Pairing: Shunsui/Nanao

Rating: T

A/N: Okay so this is my newest multi-chapter project for Nanao and Shunsui. It's a series of one shots each prompted by a line or verse of a song by The Script.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own bleach, Tite Kubo does and The Script own all rights to the song We Cry

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Mary's ambition, she wants to be a politician

She's been dreaming about it since she was a girl

She thought, that she'd be the one to change the world

Always tryna pave the way for women in a mans world.

Shunsui sighed softly as he watched his fukutaichou work diligently on hispaperwork. He himself was sprawled out across the floor of the eighth division offices supposedly asleep. He liked watching his Nanao work though and could quite often be found "sleeping" as he was now. If Shunsui was anything it was observant.

Right then Nanao was hunched over a stack of forms, the tip of her pink tongue just visible between her lips as evidence of her concentration. Shunsui doubted she even knew she was doing it most of the time. The tongue between her lips meant that she was just working on mission reports, nothing too stressful but a form that was present in a multitude and that required a hand written report of the proceedings. All the seats reported directly to Nanao upon returning from a mission, they'd learned that there was really no point in seeking out Shunsui even if it was protocol. Ise-fukutaichou would just have to hunt them down later anyway…

He watched as she placed a completed stack to one side and pulled another towards her. She read intently for a few minutes before she absently worried her bottom lip, tapping her brush softly. Budget. She always bit her lip while working out the monthly budget. Probably, Shunsui knew, because she was making most of it up in order to hide the eighth's expenditure on sake. Nanao really was a darling like that, as much as their drinking irked her she'd never allow the division get into trouble with Yama-Ji… instead she spread the sake expenditure through all the accounts causing her a huge amount of hassle in order to make them balance. Even as he watched Nanao pushed the hair that had fallen loose from her up-do back impatiently, her stress obvious. She worked for about a half hour on the budget before giving up and dropping it a little harder than necessary back into the incomplete pile before rising.

Now she'd wander over to the window and glance out with a small sigh before leaving for the mess hall where she'd pick up a strong black coffee, an apple, some origini and something containing a huge amount of chocolate before returning to her desk approximately eighteen minutes later and eating while she worked. Sure enough she stepped around him, heading for the window before leaving the office.

Shunsui heaved a tired sigh when the door closed, sitting up and rubbing his face with a large hand. Nanao had faces for all her paperwork, and sadly Shunsui knew every one of them. When she was signing transfer papers her brow furrowed to form a tiny crease, when someone had been injured on a mission her lips turned down, complaint forms made her lips thin with disapproval and dare the kido corps request her transfer again she glared.

On one hand Shunsui loved watching her work, Nanao revealed so much of herself while he was meant to be sleeping but on the other hand it made him gloomy, that such a vibrant soul could be reduced to a life of paperwork and monotony.

Shunsui remembered the girl that had joined the eighth division. The vibrant little spitfire who had no qualms in earning her respect by force dare anybody comment on her youth. The old Nanao who had told him straight out that she had every intention of being a captain when she was just two years out of the academy and barely four foot tall.

What hurt Shunsui the most though was that she could've been. Nanao was never one to joke, even back then, and had trained herself to the bone both in kidou and in Zampaktou. She was to this day the youngest soul to ever successfully wield sorcerer's kidou and the squad had cowered in fear at the thought of facing her in Zanjitsu. She worked her way up the ranks at an amazing speed.

She was an icon, back then, an icon to every woman in seireitei. She proved that it was possible for a woman to succeed in the male dominated profession that was soul reaping. She'd single handedly caused the movement that meant that women were respected in positions like lieutenant today. Of course Unohana had already been captain at that point but that was different. Everybody looked down on the fourth. Yoruichi had been captain too but everyone knew that was only because she had no brothers, not because her skill was respected. Women were lieutenants to do paperwork and that was just the way it was. Nanao had been a fierce feminist and had changed soul society forever with her quick mind, sharp tongue and huge amount of power. She was set to be the first willingly promoted female captain of the thirteen squads even then as a child… but then everything had changed…

Lisa left.

Lisa had been Nanao's main support system during those years of change. Nanao's outspoken nature had alienated her from most of sereitei's women, all fearing the consequences they could suffer for her voice. Likewise the men of seireitei didn't quite know what to think of her either. Most of the eighth respected and supported her but the fact remained that she was female. The men outside the squad ranged from those who openly supported her to the nobles who despised the idea of a woman holding such power. Nanao had relied heavily on Lisa and losing her had been a huge blow.

It was shortly after that Nanao had been promoted to lieutenant. It had looked like everything was going to be okay… Nanao had bounced back from Lisa's abandonment and everyone was happy.

But years had passed and slowly Nanao had changed. Shunsui hadn't noticed at first, nobody had, but she was slowly pulling herself out of the spotlight. She stopped allowing her voice be heard and even stopped training with her Zampaktou. It was only then that Shunsui had realised what she was really doing. Slowly but surely she was pulling herself out of the running for a captain's position…

It had floored him. She'd worked so hard for this. So so hard and now she was just giving it all up…? What the hell had she been thinking?! Shunsui hadn't been disappointed with her, he'd been furiouswith her for wasting her life. They'd had it out one night, in front of the whole division and when Shunsui finally finally pushed her over the edge she'd roared the truth that still haunted Shunsui to that day.

You need me here!

The words still rang in his ears even thinking about it now. The division, this division had held her back. He had held her back. And she'd been entirely correct. They did need her here. He needed her here… All one had to do was look around them.

After that incident Nanao's change had become a lot more rapid. The highly intelligent, highly opinionated, highly powerful woman had shut her powers out and buried her head in her work. Of course news of their shouting match had reached Yamamoto and he'd tried his best to change her mind but Nanao had her bases covered. As long as she didn't train with her Zampaktou she wouldn't achieve bankai and as long as she didn't achieve bankai she couldn't be promoted. She'd made an enemy out of the head captain that day and even now a century later he wouldn't look at her.

Her ambition had fizzled out, her temper forcefully calmed but Nanao maintained that she was happy. Shunsui didn't doubt that she was. The eighth was her family and the squad was fiercely loyal to her. Their loyalty was illustrated by the fact that the Soutaichou still didn't know that Nanao had achieved bankai purely by accident protecting Shunsui himself on a training mission seventy years ago. They just didn't want to lose her…

Nanao was the provider in the division. She may come across as the least motherly person imaginable but to the division that was what she was. She cared for them and she kept them out of trouble yet she ruled with a stern presence. When they were upset she comforted and when they pissed her off she shouted. Shunsui himself was probably the biggest child of them all and he knew that. Nanao thrived in her position though, at least from a more personal point of view anyway. She was far from thriving when stuck with paperwork but when with the division she glowed. She was respected as a captain by their recruits and by most of the captains of seireitei as she was.

But Nanao had become the very thing she'd despised. A paper pusher caring for a lazy male captain in a position that was below her and Shunsui knew that she had to see that. He often wondered how that affected her mentally. Did it hurt her as much as it hurt him to see it? When she looked out the window and sighed was she thinking about what she could have had? Did she ever regret her choice? Would she ever regret her choice? Would she leave?

"Stop thinking taichou you'll hurt your head."

Nanao deftly stepped over her sprawling captain as she shot the barb without thought. Shunsui could pinpoint the moment she realised what she'd said as she turned around with that horrified look in her eyes.

"Sir I'm-"

"Yare yare Nanao-chan it's nice to hear you're still in there every once in a while." Said Shunsui with a grin.

"I meant no disrespect sir-"

"Of course you did and I'm glad."

Nanao opened her mouth to reply but closed it again with a rueful smile pulling at her lips. Instead she just returned to her desk and settled back to her work.

Shunsui reclined back onto the floor, his mind soothed a little. He'd always feel the guilt of holding her back, he knew that, but a leopard doesn't just change it's spots, and Nanao? Well she just camouflaged hers well. Shunsui was on a mission. He was going to bring those spots back into sight. Even if it killed him.

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A/N: Well that didn't turn out at all as I envisioned it… Oh well… Anyway the title of the next chapter is "Been a while" It has the potential to be quite angsty but I have the feeling it'll be fluffy by the end just like this one… There's eleven tracks on the alum I'm working from which means eleven potential one shots but only if you keep me motivated!

Review!

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Becca