AN: Hey guys, long time no see. Heh, -nervous glance around-. Well, I won't lie as to why it's taken so long to update... I've been lazy.

Hope it was worth the wait.


: Chapter 6 – Sunset :

"Nanao-chan, how are you feeling?" Shunsui asked her after several minutes of awkward silence, his forceful attitude gone. She groaned in response, raising one hand to press against her forehead, feeling yet another headache coming on.

"I was afraid of this," he muttered, slowing to a walk. Shunsui really hadn't expected her body to react so quickly to the sake; in any case, he'd always thought that Nanao only avoided the drink because she was worried what she might do when uninhibited—which he was actually quite curious about, as well. Still, he supposed his lieutenant had not consumed alcohol in a while, so she was more susceptible than he'd thought. "Don't worry, my lovely Nanao-chan. Rest assured, it should pass quickly enough. I don't think you drank enough to make you sick… er."

He returned to looking after his intoxicated fukutaicho. When she didn't respond, he quickened his pace slightly, wondering whether or not he was doing the right thing by carrying his Vice-captain off in such a state. As a responsible Captain, shouldn't he have left her in her quarters to rest and recuperate? Then again, he didn't really consider himself a 'responsible' captain, as Nanao constantly reminded him.

He frowned, pushing away the thoughts that continued to nag at his brain, as they entered the forest. Turning his frown into a slight grin, Shunsui remembered all the cherished days he had spent in this forest training as a student, practicing missions with Ukitake, and above all, napping. The trees were tall, stretching toward the sky as if to grab the warmth with leafy fingers. They cast a design of shadows and beams of light over the worn path, giving it a scenic look. Many precious memories were buried in the roots of these gentle giants, and if he was lucky, today would be yet another to be remembered on a rainy day.

"C-Captain?" Nanao's uncertain voice brought him back to reality. "Is everything… a-all right?"

"All right?" she cringed as his loud voice reached her pounding head. He dropped his voice volume down to a whisper. "What could be wrong? I'm spending the day with the loveliest woman in all of Sereitei." And the flirtatious attitude returns, she thought, trying hard not to roll her eyes.

"All antics aside, you seem preoccupied… sir." He could tell the sake was wearing off, and gave a mental sigh of relief, though the logical part of his brain informed him that it was partially his fault in the first place.

"Don't worry my lovely fukutaicho," he smiled adoringly. "There's nothing bothering me except the frown on your face." Trust Shunsui to turn any serious question into a joke.

"I am frowning because I greatly disapprove of your methods of transportation and because we seem to have completely different ideas of how one should spend one's day off.'"

"Nanao-chan," Shunsui sounded as if he was repeating an obvious and well-known fact, "a day off should be spent having fun in as many ways as possible!"

"My idea of 'fun' does not include me having to take care of all your responsibilities," she snapped, emotionless mask returning though miniscule cracks were letting a bit of amusement seep through.

He chuckled. "Are you sure you're not finding the least amount of enjoyment?"

"Positive." She replied quickly. Too quickly.

"Well, judging by the slight blush that tints your beautiful cheeks, it seems that you're enjoying the fact that you are very, very close to me." He teased, curling his arms and bringing her up, causing more than just a 'slight' blush.

"Certain circumstances—" Nanao struggled, turning her head away.

"Yare, Nanao-chan, I was only kidding," Shunsui laughed, eyes crinkled.

"You're always 'kidding.' Maybe you should try being serious once in a while." It was an age-old argument—one that hid a deeper meaning, one the two were scarcely aware of.

"I'm very serious when it comes to my Nanao-chan."

"Taicho, I don't think anyone in their right mind would give their sick lieutenant such a strong variety of sake to drink almost immediately after being released from a hospital."

"You were the one who grabbed it off the table!" He cried indignantly.

"Momentary lack of better judgment." She retorted. He didn't respond, letting the subject die away before she became irritated. Well, more irritated.

The ground began to slope gently upward, the enormous trees thinning to be replaced with small shrubs dotted with petite, blooming flowers. Eventually the path ended at a small clearing which overlooked the Sereitei. But it was not the view that drew Nanao's attention as her Captain lowered her into the soft, springy grass, it was the sunset.

The sun's edge had just barely dipped below the horizon, its last, dying rays painting the above sky golden red, tints of orange blending in with the ruby coloring. The magnificent fire burned through the robin's egg blue, scorching the scant clouds still hanging above the silent pair a light pink. Nanao stared in shock, mouth agape even as the final glowing sliver slipped away and the world morphed into the soft hues of twilight.

She felt him sit next to her, eyes still glued on the picture perfect sky, and instinctively moved away from him, though she felt his warmth tempting her back.

"What do you think?" He inquired, setting his hat and sake bottle on the ground to his right.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"Not as beautiful as you." Shunsui replied, eyes carefully watching her face for a response. Nanao's words were never anything to judge by—only her face and eyes could reveal her true thoughts.

"Sir, have you been reading Rangiku's '101 Ways to Impress a Woman' book again?" She fixed him with a curious look, knowing full well how many times Rangiku had tried to 'help' him.

"Not… recently. I'm merely stating a fact." He smiled. "You should relax more often; it makes you look years younger… Not that you're not already perfect as it is." He added, giving her a broad smile that would've made lesser women swoon. She knew better.

"Kyouraku-taicho, will you ever stop?" She sighed and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes as she brought up what she had wanted—needed to know for decades.

"Loving you?" Shunsui shifted his gaze to Nanao's hands, which were twining nervously in her hakama, each nail showing signs of biting.

"Pretending that you love me," she corrected, scooting further away as her captain leaned closer.

"Nanao-chan, you know I'm too old to pretend."

"But not old enough to stop flirting with women?"

"I only flirt with one woman, because there's only one woman for me." She didn't need to ask to whom he was referring to, nor did he need to tell her. It would've been nice to hear her name though—just once, solid proof.

"You don't mean what you say." She was running out of logical arguments, but logic, she supposed, seemed to have quit trying on this whole situation altogether.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when you tell someone the same thing every single day, that person begins the doubt the truth behind your flowery words. Flowers wilt away after a short time, taicho. Perhaps your words are the same." Nanao's words were sharp and biting, cutting through the 'Kodak' moment.

Her back was as rigid as a board, feet tucked under her body. But, he noticed silently, her hands, clasped together in her lap now, were shaking slightly. Something was troubling her; he had known her too long to mistake her behavior as nervousness, though many others would.

"I tell you everyday so that you'll never forget."

"But you don't deny that it's untrue."

"I do." He declared with a hint of anger on the edge of his voice. "Don't you trust me?"

"With my life, but not my heart." She replied, suppressing a sad sigh with ease. A simple act she had perfected long ago to counteract the continual barrage of 'wouldn't my Nanao-chan like to have a drink with her poor old captain?'

"That's very contradictory." He countered, noticing her hidden sigh. A gift he had perfected from years of hacking into the ice cube that surrounded her heart… with a toothpick.

"Why don't you ever give up?" Her voice wavered. "I'm not right for you; I'm too plain, too serious. I'm not like other women who are beautiful and—and … curvy." She cringed at her own poor choice of words, looking away from him again.

"My precious Nanao-chan," he placed his index finger under her chin to lift her violet eyes up to meet his dark-chocolate ones, "all those things you detest about yourself… they're the exact opposite of what you believe them to be." His eyes held hers with an intensity that did not match with his usual, carefree expressions.

She didn't realize how bad she was shaking until his strong arms snaked around her waist, drawing her close, too close, to him. She felt her personal space bubble pop, felt the small splinters in her usually iron-hard defenses fall and crumble as his eyes assaulted hers with a fiery fascination that she had never seen in him before. His gaze searched her wide, frightened eyes, desperately needing to know the truth hiding behind her impassive features.

"I really and truly love you, Nanao Ise." He brought one hand up to stroke her cheek, leaving a tingling sensation as he traced her jaw line. Still petrified with shock, she was helpless to resist as he slowly brought his lips down through the semi-darkness to meet hers.

: End Chapter 6 :


End Note: Love it? Hate it? Think it was worth the wait? Feel let down after waiting so long? (I hope not...) I think my attempt at something sweet turned almost angsty. Flangst anyone? (flangst fluffy angst. word is property of Empress of Misfits).

Leave me a review! It's always nice to hear the voice of the people (lol?). Long or short, reviews make me a happey person (though maybe not for long. End of course tests next week, ahhhh x.x)I hope you liked it, and even if you didn't, feel free to tell me.