A/N: I really thought I wasn't ready to write this chapter, but then it started playing out in my head. Thanks goes to LazyNezumi for helping me realize I needed some clarification!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I make no profit off this.
Nanao had managed to get the day off, on the account that the paperwork was all finished from the night before. She had chosen to spend her day in the library, surrounded by lovely books. But even as she sat with a stack of them at a table, her mind wandered.
How long had it been that she'd had this... oh, how she hated the word crush, but that's what it was, on her Captain? She could still remember her 21st birthday, he'd wanted to take her out for a drink and she had walked away to hide her blush. Had it started then? A flash of memory hit her with wild intensity.
She had been 19 years old. Oddly, she hadn't been able to completely shake that awkward phase yet, but she was on the verge of becoming a lieutenant. She'd just been suggested for the position, actually. Captain Kyoraku had come from the meeting, looking unsettled and slightly angry. What was wrong with him? He was rarely anything other than carefree and happy.
"Captain Kyoraku?" Nanao asked. "Captain, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, Lil' Nanao." Shunsui ruffled her hair gently. She really should either cut it or tie it up so he couldn't muss it; she'd had that thought before. But in a way she enjoyed those simple touches.
Still, Nanao asked around. She found out from multiple sources that Captain Kurotsuchi had started an argument with Captain Kyoraku, stating that Nanao would be wonderful for his newest experiment. Shunsui hadn't been happy, and he seemed to have gotten incredibly defensive from what she had heard. He had stood up for her? What... what an odd feeling. No one had ever done that for her.
The next day, as she delivered his paperwork, she found herself blushing. What the hell was wrong with her? She'd never been one to fall so easily, what was wrong with her?
When Nanao was appointed as lieutenant of the eighth, she promised herself she would bury those feelings.
And it had worked for years, but now things were surfacing that she didn't want to admit to. Staring down at the book on the table, she felt her stomach do a flip. No. She told herself. He's your Captain. Don't. Frowning, she buried her face in her hands, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Pathetic. That's how she felt. The one guy she didn't have any sort of a shot with, even in a frozen hell world, and she had to fall for him.
Momo ran over to Nanao, grabbing her wrist. "I need your help, it's an emergency!" Nanao followed willingly, letting Momo guide her. They came to the edge of Sereitei and were met with a large number of hollows. Nanao, though distracted, focused on killing hollows as best as she could with Kido.
But when one of those hollows just refused to die, it jerked forward and clawed down her leg. Nanao could feel the burn of torn flesh, could feel hot blood running down her leg. She didn't want to look. With a few quick moves of kido, she assassinated the hollow, but even as she completed the kill, she was on the ground. The hollows appeared to have all been eradicated, as they weren't attacking her now, but she could tell that she was in serious trouble. She was losing feeling in her leg, except for a dull, deep ache, and the edges of her vision were going dark. Finally, it all went away.
Shunsui had just received word that Nanao had gone to the fourth after an emergency call. He picked up and left his office without any notice, something he'd likely be reprimanded for in the next few days.
Finding her was easy; after all, he knew her energy like he only knew one other person's – Juushiro's. As he stepped into the room, he was confronted with what he didn't want to see – Nanao in a hospital gown, being asked all sorts of questions by Unohana herself. Shunsui stepped up to the side of her bed as Retsu poked and prodded at Nanao's foot, asking if she could feel this and that, could she wiggle her toes, a whole slew of questions. Nanao's answers were all affirmative, yes, she could feel that, yes, she could wiggle her toes – though when she did, the action was weak. Retsu exited the room, seemingly satisfied for the moment.
"How's my darling Nanao?" Shunsui tried to tease, though he felt much too sobered to try.
"Don't call me that." Nanao looked away. She looked pale, which, from what he'd heard about how much blood she'd lost, was expected.
"Can I sit with my darling Nanao?" Shunsui hovered near her hip. When she didn't object, he sat beside her hip, studying her. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"My reaction time wasn't good enough." Nanao frowned, shaking her head. "I'll be fine, Captain." Was she blushing? Shunsui studied her a moment longer before looking out the window.
"You're going to rest for a week or two." Shunsui sighed. "Something is bothering you and you're hurt. So you're off duty for the next two weeks."
"Captain!" Nanao yelped. "The-"
"I will do the paperwork personally." Shunsui set his hand on hers, a lazy smile blooming across his face. "I know you didn't sleep last night, and I can't have my lieutenant getting sick or dying."
"Yes, sir." Nanao nodded briefly.
"In the meantime..." Shunsui leaned closer to her, pulling her into a hug. "I'm glad you're alright. I was worried when I heard that you had gone into the fourth for extreme blood loss."
Every nerve in Nanao's body seemed to be firing at once. She was tingly all over, and in addition to that, her brain seemed frozen. It wanted to scream inappropriate, Captain! Or maybe hit him with a fan, but her brain was locked up like a computer with a virus. And she knew what that virus was too.
"Captain, you shouldn't be doing this." Nanao took careful care not to stutter, and to form her words just so it sounded like she didn't care. As much as she wanted – even needed – this hug, she knew it shouldn't be.
"Let's not think about that right now." Shunsui's tone was light again.
Nanao hid her face in his kimono after a long moment's consideration. After all, what could a harmless hug do?
A/N: I am so tired. If you see a typo, review me with it, will you? Thanks. What'd you think?
