Chapter 11: And Then There Was Two..
Nanao and Hoshichimei spent their whole day off work, running around the Seireitei, trying to find a way to celebrate. After a long search, the only thing they could find was a ramen hut. Hoshichimei sighed, looking down to her steaming bowl of ramen, "I wish we could have found a better way to celebrate, this is such a big deal!" Nanao slurped a noodle, then shook her head, "No no, this is just fine. I get to have ramen with my best friend." Hoshichimei's eyes widened, "I'm your ...best friend, Nanao-san...?" Nanao smiled, "Yes, of course." Hoshichimei giggled and took a mouth full of noodles, "That makes me so happy." she said while trying to swallow the bite. A hand suddenly appeared on her shoulder, making her nearly choke on the ramen in surprise. She looked behind her, "Shun-...uhh, Taichou! What are you doing here?". Her face turned bright red as he smiled knowingly at her, "Oh, I heard from my best friend about his engagement.." he looked to Nanao, "I can't believe our little Nanao-chan is all grown up and getting married!" Nanao furrowed her brow, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "Excuse me taichou, but I've been grown up for quite some time....but, thank you anyway." then smiled.
The three friends shared a while of conversation, until Nanao stood and pushed her chair in. "Alright, I had a great day Hoshichimei-san. We'll have to do this again." Hoshichimei grinned, standing up to hug her friend, "Yes! You go find Jyuushiro-san and give him a big hug for me, hehe." Nanao chuckled, "See you two later." then walked towards the 12th division. Hoshichimei sighed happily, sitting back on her stool. "Its so sweet.." she mumbled, thinking of her friends engagement. Shunsui suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind, causing her to jump in surprise, "T-taichou!!" as her face turned red. He snuggled his face into her hair, "I've missed you...all day, Hoshi-chan." She smiled, feeling her heart drum wildly in her chest, "Shunsui...". He hummed in approval, squeezing her tighter. She blushed more, "Sh-shunsui-sama...maybe we should go for a walk? I d-don't know that anyone knows about us yet..." Shunsui let go of her, letting her turn to face him, "You are absolutely correct. I'll have to climb a mountain and tell everyone!" She giggled, "No no no, thats not what I meant!" He grabbed her hand, "I know, I just thought my idea was fun.", smiling mischeviously. Hoshichimei rolled her eyes, then sighed, "So..." she paused, looking to his eyes, "Do you want to tell people? Should we wait?" Shunsui bit his lip in thought, "I think I'll let you decide that, hmm?" She nodded, "Oh..alright, thats good." He pulled her in suddenly, "Until then, we can make all the arrangements." She cocked her head to the side, "Arrangements...?" He kissed the tip of her nose, "For our wedding, silly." Her face lit up, "O-oh yeah...I forgot about that." causing him to laugh, "You look so beautiful when you're embaressed."
Later that evening, after a long walk and loving hug, Shunsui said good night to his beloved, and let her off to her courters. Walking around the courtyard, he couldn't help but notice every small and beautiful thing around him. He saw the night blooming jasmines, and thought of what they would look like in her hair, he saw the vibrant full moon, and wondered how beautiful her skin would look under its glow. Amidts his thoughts, he failed to notice the shinigami walking behind him. "Taichou Kyouraku." He blinked, then turned around, "Oh," noticing who it was, he managed a fake and piteous smile, "Fukutaichou Shuuhei, your up awefully late. If you're here to see Hoshi-chan, shes already in bed." The purple haired fukutaichou shook his head, "No, sir, I was looking for you." Shunsui folded his arms, "Oh? Why's that?" taking into account the boy's sharp attitude, and stiff posture. Hisagi knitted his brow, "I don't like you being so close with my friend, sir. I know how you are, I've seen how you treat women." The lazy captain sighed, "I wonder," he paused, "If you're saying this because you care about her wellfare, or if you're just jealous, fukutaichou." Shuuhei gritted his teeth, "I am not jealous! I just know how you play with womens hearts...and use them!" Shunsui saw the boys hand reach towards his side, where his zanpakto layed, "You're getting a little hot-headed don't you think, boy? I haven't done anything rude or innapropriate." Hisagi stood in defense, "Not yet anyway." causing shunsui to laugh, "Oh, yare yare...you worry too much. Its none of your business anyway." Hisagi finally drew his sword, "She is my business; shes like family to me!" Shunsui raised a hand up, "If she's so much of 'family' to you, then why did you hurt her that time before?" Hisagi's eyes widened, "She told...you...-- It doesn't matter! That was an accident! I know she forgives me!" He nodded, "She does forgive you, which is why it hurt her so much that you tried to be with her again. She got over you, and tredging those feelings back up will hurt her worse than before." Hisagi loosened the grip on his sword, looking towards the ground before him, "I...don't care...I want her...I want her back." Shunsui sighed once again, "Come back when you have self confidence that you could win her back, rather than trying to kill me while she sleeps." He nodded towards him, then walked off to his room. Shuuhei gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath at the strong willed captain.
A few days went by, and it seemed that there was no word from the disgruntled Hisagi Shuuhei. Shunsui and Hoshichimei had spent hours upon hours finding ways to be with eachother in secret; taking walks in the garden, having drinks at the ramen hut, or simply gazing to the stars. Meanwhile, Nanao had been arranging all her files to be sent to the 13th division. Jyuushiro hadn't come over much, but was resting in his bed due to an overwhelmingly high fever. It was okay though, because he had Nanao constantly coming over to check on him. Just like usual, she had things up and running in the 8th division, while also becoming the fukutaichou of the 13th. Lazily, Hoshichimei layed her leg across the wooden table, "I wish I could be as skilled as Nanao-san...". A small chuckled eminated from Shunsui, who was grabbing a bottle of sake from his cabinet, "Dear Hoshi-chan, she may be skilled at all those fancy things...but you are skilled at putting up with me." She looked up to him with a smile, "Yeah, I guess thats true.", accepting a cup from him. Crossing his legs as he sat down, Shunsui prodded, "So...its been almost a week now..and you haven't told me...where you want us to get married.", grinning childishly. She blushed, remembering how she had been trying to forget about the plans in general, "Shunsui-sama...I just...don't know yet, I suppose.." trying to avoid his gaze. He nodded, "I see I see...you still afraid of letting 'us' get out?" She ran a slender finger down her cup, "I guess I am...". He prodded further, "Is it because of Shuuhei?", making her nearly spill the sake. "No! I Mean...I don't...think so, I mean...I don't know...". He chuckled, "Silly Hoshi-chan, you don't need to be so flustered; though you look adorable that way, theres no reason to be." Outside of the room, the wind was picking up as the clouds rolled in. A storm was starting to invade the sky, as a distant thunder cloud became more and more obvious. Shunsui stood to close the window, trying to keep out any rain that would stain his curtains. "I do want to marry you, Shunsui-sama...", Hoshichimei began, "I'm just afraid of what Hisagi will do, when he finds out about us." The lazy captain scratched at his beard, "Well, I think he already knows. He..uhh, came to me last week, angry. He told me to stay away from you." She sighed, "I guess that means he does know, huh...". The winds became more violent, picking up at amazing speeds, as rain came down like metal pelets, "You shouldn't worry about that though, Hoshi-chan, I am strong enough to defend us both. Sure, I may be a lazy bum who wants nothing more than to sleep the day away, but I was trained under Yamijii! Always remember that."