Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU and draws inspiration from The West Wing. Some of the dialogue is almost directly quoted from the show.
Winning and Losing
Shunsui scanned the room as he waited for someone at the other end of the phone line to pick up. All the TV's in the room where set to news channels that were following the primary. This was the last primary. If they won it, then they had the Democratic nomination. He listened as Gin Ichimaru briefed Jyuu on how things were going.
"We're starting to get some good exit polling at Stark County and Rock Island."
"How good?" Jyuu was nothing if not precise.
"We're running at fifty-three to fifty-eight with the undecideds from seventy-two hours ago at the twelfth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth." Gin's perpetual smiled seemed genuine right now.
"That's the Money!" Jyuu beamed before turning to him. "Who are you talking to?"
Shunsui sighed. "I'm talking to nobody. There's no one at my house."
A look of concern crossed Jyuu's face. "What's going on?"
He shrugged. "Nothing. My dad had his chemo today. These exit polls are going to cheer him up."
Before Jyuu had a chance to respond to that, Yoruichi Urahara joined them.
"Jyuushiro, is there any food in this room that isn't fried?"
Jyuu laughed; unhealthy food had been a long running joke throughout the campaign so far. "Well, if there is, let's get rid of it."
"I'm not kidding."
She probably wasn't; Jyuu changed the subject. "Good exits from Stark County and Rock Island."
Her eyes lit up. "How good?"
Jyuushiro beamed. "They're good."
"Jyuushiro!" Urahara called as he entered the room, holding a several papers and looking grumpy. "What the hell is this?"
Shunsui recognized the work. "That's Gin's draft of your victory remarks.
"I congratulate my opponent on a well-fought campaign in Illinois?" He quoted directly from the draft.
"You don't want to congratulate him?" Jyuushiro asked carefully.
"Yes, I want to congratulate him, but I'd like to call him by his name! Are
we back to this old crap again?"
"Governor, we just--" Shunsui began.
Urahara cut him off. "Jyuushiro, I want to go over this whole thing with you."
Jyuu nodded at Shunsui. "Excuse me."
Shunsui shook his head as they walked out of the room. For all that Kisuke Urahara was a good man and a great candidate, he was also prickly at times and difficult to work with. He hadn't really gotten to know most of the campaign staff yet, and there were times when it felt like they were being taken for granted and that they're best just wasn't good enough for the man.
Yoruichi looked at him with a knowing smile. "You can say it, you know. It's not like I haven't heard it before."
Shunsui sighed. "Your husband's a real son of a bitch at times, Mrs. Urahara."
"He doesn't like being handled."
"Well, I think that if he looked around, he'd see that nobody's handling him." It was true enough.
"He's not ready yet, Shunsui. He's terrified." She admitted quietly.
"Well, is he going to be ready?" If he wasn't, then they had a problem.
"You bet your ass he will. In the meantime, you want to kick something, kick me."
She headed towards the TVs, and Shunsui shook his head again. Yoruichi Urahara was one hell of a woman. He hoped that her husband knew how lucky he was. Gin, Rangiku, and Toushiro were clustered around one of the TVs. It was clear that something was finally happing. Shunsui hung up the phone. He would try calling his dad again later.
"Here it comes!" Rangiku called excitedly.
The woman the TV was smiling. "With seventeen percent of the precincts reporting, we are now ready to call the Illinois primary for former New Hampshire Governor Kisuke Urahara."
Whoops and cheers filled the air. Toushiro was actually smiling. Gin lifted Rangiku off her feet, twirling her around and kissing her. The song Celebration filled the air. Jyuushiro appeared beside him, and Shunsui hugged his best friend. They had done it.
"Way to go! Now, let's get to California. We have a nomination to accept and an election to win."
Jyuu crossed the room to take his fiancée in his arms. Shunsui laughed and called after him.
"Jyuu, we've got to replace this music. We've got to replace it with some
Queen!"
He didn't notice Nanao approaching him until she was almost in front of him. Her face was solemn and sad.
"Shunsui?"
He grabbed her hands with a smile. "Nanao, you've got to get happy! You just won the Illinois Primary. Come dance with me!"
She held his hands tight, holding him in place. Her voice was soft but clear. "No, Shunsui. Shunsui, your father died."
He stared at her stunned. He could still hear the party going on around them, but he was focused on Nanao and her words. His father was dead. They had won the Illinois primary, but his father was dead.
