Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU. I am not very familiar with the Bleach anime, and Katen Kyokotsu's personality is based on the manga and my own suppositions.
A Pretty Puzzle
Nanao was feeling more than a little frustrated. She had been researching for the past two hours without finding so much as the hint of information about the two swords. They clearly were a matching set, but no matter where Nanao looked, she could not find any record of them. It was really most unusual. Nanao didn't often find a puzzle she couldn't solve. This was going to take far more research than most artifacts normally did.
And then there were the swords themselves. There was something about those physical objects that both drew Nanao and made her wary. She didn't normally have strong reactions to inanimate objects. She didn't normally have trouble items she was cataloging. But these two were really bothering her, and Nanao couldn't put her finger on why. But what ever it was, it was really beginning to annoy her.
It also was getting to be time to go home, and Nanao was torn about what to do. Common sense said to pack up and go home. Have a good weekend and come back with fresh eyes on Monday. Her instincts told her to take the swords home with her and check a few resources she had there. Technically, she could take some artifacts home. She didn't do it often, and the paperwork was something of a hassle. But she was going to do it tonight.
Rewrapping the swords in the silk, Nanao carefully packed up the swords. She printed out the forms and filled them out. It didn't take her long to sign them and drop them off. Then she slipped the swords into her bag and headed out the door. Her train bus ride home had her nervous and worried about the swords. They weighed on her mind in an odd way. She was very aware of their presence in her bag.
Nanao let herself into her apartment, slipping off her shoes and tucking the bag into the hall closet for now. It didn't take her long to turn on her personal laptop, change out of her work clothes, and get dinner started. By the time her food was ready and, Nanao had laid out the swords beside her laptop and dug out every single book she had that could possibly be relevant to the subject. Then Nanao settled down for a serious research session.
Hours later, Nanao still hadn't been able to come up with much solid information. She could match the period that the swords should be from, but other than that, she had no information. For one thing, while the swords should be from the Muromachi period, they didn't seem to have any marks of aging whatsoever. It was like they had been forged only yesterday. Furthermore, while both the swords had distinctive and unique tsuba, Nanao could find no record of either of the designs anywhere. The blades also had kanji engravings on them. At least, she thought she had seen those earlier, but she hadn't been able to find them when she had looked again. Of course, given that it was now two in the morning, that could have been exhaustion speaking.
She desperately needed to go to sleep though. The rest of the research could wait for tomorrow. Nanao had no special plans for her birthday save for visiting the festival that would be set up in the evening. There were some advantages of being born on Tanabata. Nanao was always guaranteed a festival on her birthday. With a yawn, she shut down her computer and went to bed.
Katen Kyokotsu was more than a little frustrated. He could sense the young woman easily, and while he appreciated the fact that she was not keeping him swathed in the silk wrapping, he couldn't seem to make her truly see him. She was drawn to him, but she didn't know why, and there had been a moment when he could have swore she saw the characters on his blade, but she clearly hadn't understood what they meant. If only she would cut a finger on one of his blades, he could reach her mind, but he couldn't seem to entice her at all into cutting herself. And until he could communicate with the woman, they were both stuck with one another.