"Mamoru-san," Nanao repeated for the third time getting tired of being pulled behind him. "Mamoru, stop!" They were outside the 8th headed towards some of the overgrown old training fields. "Honestly, you're just giving them more to talk about by dragging me across my own division."
"What did you do after I left you last night?" Mamoru demanded dropping her wrist, but continuing his trek to the abandoned field and obviously assuming she would follow.
"I collected my drunk Taicho and got caught at his house during a rainstorm," she said simply. "It's not that strange. I've pulled him out of a bar more times than I can count, and it's not as if I've never spent the night over there. It was completely innocent."
"You ripped off a girl's dress," he said finally stopping and facing her.
"I kidoed it off, and she had it coming," Nanao defended herself once more. Really everyone was more than happy to get naked with strangers in a bar until it was involuntary. If the girl had been wearing more clothing in the first place, she'd have had more time to react before anything was exposed.
"You can't do things like that. It makes people talk," he said harshly.
"And makes them say what Mamoru?" she asked exasperated. That Ise-fukutaicho is in love with Kyouraku-Taicho and in a fit of jealousy tore off his latest girlfriend's dress? So what! No one beyond the Seireitei will care about anything other than one woman tore off another woman's dress. They probably won't even bother with attaching names to the story once it reaches Rukongai, and if they do it'll be the last name Ise. I hardly think he'll lend an ear to it."
"You don't know what he pays attention to," Mamoru fired back.
"Neither do you!" she said trying to maintain control on her reiatsu as her anger rose. She was tired of defending herself, and the fact that her Taicho was acting so cold was weighing heavily on her mind. Kyouraku had many moods, but distant was not generally one of them. She wanted this conversation over quickly to get back to the office and figure out what was going on. "I'm tired of having to take everything everyone dishes out just because he may or may not put two and two together when the story hits the rumor mill. I'm not a child anymore and he can't do anything to me."
"You know that's a lie, Nao," Mamoru said instantly.
"I'm a fukutaicho," Nanao declared furiously. "I can fight off a menos grandes, I think I can take on a Rukongai criminal."
"You know very well that you're only a fukutaicho until he gets near you, and then you're just another woman," Mamoru replied heatedly. "Drawing attention to yourself is a big risk to take. You've seen how the Gotei 13 wash their hands clean of their own over and over again. Do you honestly think for one second that they wouldn't do the same to you were you to get into trouble?"
"Taicho wouldn't," she replied firmly. She hated being talked down to like a child, and he sure as hell didn't have the right to blatantly insult, true or not, the organization that had been her family and her protection for a good majority of her life.
"If he notices," Mamoru spat back. "Be sure to get into trouble when your precious Taicho isn't sleeping, drinking, or screwing the newest nameless whore."
Nanao couldn't help it; she slapped him. Mamoru stared at her in shock as she tried to reel her exploding reiatsu back in. "If you didn't notice, the thing that people are talking about the most, and the only information he'd actually listen to, is my time spent with you! Even if he hears the name Ise and doesn't know who I am, if he thinks you care about me, do you think he wouldn't want to cause me harm anyway if only to hurt you? It's not my Taicho that's put me in danger, it's you."
"Fine," he growled after a second of shocked silence, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Then let him protect you, because I'm done. I never thought I'd see the day when you'd pick a man like that over your own brother." Mamoru turned on his heel quickly and started shunpoing away. It was a mark of how angry he was that he didn't bother to hide how good he was at shunpo from the shinigami around them.
Nanao desperately tried to stop her body from shaking as she watched him go. Regaining some of her senses she noticed a group of the 8th's members on a far away training field had stopped what they were doing and seemed to be staring over at her and the scene she had just caused. Following her brother's example she shunpoed directly back to the office making her way quickly past the obviously gawking secretaries and sliding the office door shut behind her. She found her Taicho pacing a hole in the office floor and a worried looking Ukitake standing by the door she'd just come in through.
"What happened?" Kyouraku asked instantly ceasing his pacing to look her up and down as if checking for injuries.
"What are you talking about?" Nanao asked trying to play it cool. What was she supposed to tell him anyway? My brother insulted you and I instinctively lost control and slapped him? That was one ego boost he didn't need.
"Nanao, we could feel your reiatsu burst from here," Kyouraku said moving slightly towards her and then pausing, seeming unsure of himself.
"We argued and I lost control for a moment. That's all," she said fidgeting with her uniform in the hope that he wouldn't noticing the tremors still running through her hands.
"A big enough fight that you're shaking?" he asked.
"I'm fine."
"Was it about last night, Nanao-san? If he needs me to clarify that nothing happened between us, I will," Kyouraku said evenly.
"I don't care about last night," she hissed impatiently. She wanted to scream it out, but then more people would hear and there would be even more rumors. It was funny how life could go from monotone to total chaotic crap in no time at all. "And I don't care that Mamoru is mad. What I do care about is why you keep calling me that!"
"What?" Kyouraku asked looking taken aback.
"Perhaps I should leave," Ukitake interjected. "Pass along some orders for the secretarial staff to take their lunch break now?" He was out the door before either party could make comment one way or another.
"Nanao, I-" Kyouraku started.
"Stop it," she said and hated the way her voice cracked. "Stop calling me that. Why are you doing this? What did I do?"
"You've been yelling at me for calling you Nanao-chan for years," he said bewildered. "I thought you'd appreciate the change."
"I've yelled at you because its unprofessional and you do it in front of superiors and squad members alike," she said, "Not because I hate the nickname, at least not from you. You only call me Nanao when you're angry or scared that I'm about to have my head lopped off by a hollow, and you never ever call me Nanao-san. It's all wrong." She stopped talking then for fear of losing it completely and bit down hard on her bottom lip trying to hold it together.
"Nanao-chan," he said softly, and with that small kindness she burst into tears, which she hated more than anything else she'd done in the past couple days. She hadn't cried in front of her Taicho in a very long time, cried for him when he was injured yes, but not in front of him. She was wrapped up in his arms before she could take her next gasping sob. "Shh, Nanao-chan, don't cry," he soothed.
"I hit him," she hiccupped out suddenly feeling terrible about not only whatever she'd done to her Taicho, but the absolute betrayal of her brother. "He was just trying to help me and I hit him."
"You hit me all the time Nanao-chan, and I still come back," Kyouraku pointed out kindly. "He'll get over it."
"It wasn't the same," she sniffed trying to put the breaks on her tears even as she curled further into him. "And I don't even know what I did to you."
"You didn't do anything," he said his hand rubbing her back as he held her. His hands were surprisingly being very good and not straying anywhere inappropriate. "I thought I was giving you what you wanted."
"When did I ever give you the idea I wanted you to treat me like you didn't know me or like me?" she asked, finally succeeding in stopping her tears, but refusing to lift her head from his pink haori.
He didn't reply and just squeezed his arms tighter around her. Nanao stayed where she was and hoped that Ukitake had truly gotten the secretaries out before she'd broken down. That was the last thing she needed.
"I have to blow my nose," she said quietly after a few moments and her brain's returning worries about propriety. She pressed his chest lightly to signal for him to move away from her. He did so, and she quickly made her way to her desk to grab a tissue. There was silence in the room as she blew her nose and tried to recompose herself.
"Do you want me to have a talk with him?" Kyouraku asked once more.
Nanao let out a bitter laugh and said, "I hardly think that would help anything. Besides, the last time you talked to a boy on my behalf it certainly didn't make him ever want to speak to me again."
Kyouraku let out his own laugh at that. "That boy deserved the talking to he got. Nobody uses my Nanao-chan."
"I'm sorry I lost control, Kyouraku-Taicho," she said using the formalities to regain her internal footing.
"You don't need to hide your emotions from me," he said watching her closely. "Though I far prefer it when you smile."
"Did you get any paperwork done?" she asked trying to redirect the conversation.
"You were gone for like fifteen minutes," he whined obviously knowing she wasn't opening up anymore that day. "I could barely read one of those boring things in that time. Besides Jyuu didn't know what form 183 was either so he couldn't help."
"That's probably because his division doesn't receive form 183," she said moving towards her desk. "That particular form is for alcohol induced injury costs as related to us by the 4th. It takes up a large part of our division's medical benefits. In fact, I'm almost positive that that particular form was created specifically for our division."
"Just means our division is having a good time," Kyouraku said with a chuckle.
"It's better than having to deal with form 322 which I think was made for the 12th division," she said happy that he was going to let her ignore what had just been happening.
"Do I even want to know what form 322 is?" he asked smiling.
"Probably not, sir. It has to do with anal probes," she replied straight faced as she sat down at her desk and began shuffling the papers Kyouraku had successfully mixed up in her short absence. Her Taicho shuddered and then gently pulled the forms out of her hands. "What are you doing?" she asked still not able to meet his eyes.
"Let's go to lunch Nanao-chan," he said putting the papers down on her desk. "I meant what I said about deserving your lunch breaks. Besides, I have to thank my cute Nanao-chan for making me breakfast."
"Taicho, keep your voice down," she hissed. "I have enough rumors flying around about me for one day, and anyway I have to catch up on this paperwork."
"It'll still be here tomorrow," he wheedled. "Come on, an hour break won't kill you."
"I can't, sir," she said resolutely. "And you shouldn't be either considering how late you arrived. I hardly think that after being in the office for around 20 minutes you need a lunch break."
"Fine, we'll stay here," Kyouraku said with a pout, which quickly morphed into a devious smile. "Nanao-chan can teach me that neat little kido spell she demonstrated last night."
"Absolutely not," she said starting to fill out forms.
"Ok, then I'll just give it a go and see what happens," he said. "I looked it up in a book this morning."
Her Taicho promptly began saying the spell and Nanao looked around in horror trying to find something she could throw over herself quickly. The problem with Kyouraku was that he was actually incredibly powerful and an amazingly fast study. She was convinced part of the reason he was so lazy was because everything came to him so easily. It took her a moment to realize her uniform was completely unharmed. Perhaps he got the spell wrong, she thought as she looked over at him. She was stunned to see his black uniform below the two haoris disintegrating from the pant leg up. What idiot points that spell at himself? Her Taicho was looking down watching his handiwork.
"Ne, Nanao-chan, would you look at that, it works," he said finally looking up.
"Of course it works you idiot," she said moving quickly around the desk. "Close your haori," she commanded reaching up and yanking the pink material closed in front of him. "Why in the world would you perform that spell on yourself?"
"Did you want me to perform it on you?" he asked staring at her and trying to look innocent.
"Obviously not," she retorted.
"Well, then whom was I supposed to practice it on?"
"Why did you need to practice it at all?" she asked still holding his haori together as he had made no move to take over.
"It is always good to be up to date on the latest kido," he said shrugging.
"You really are impossible," she reprimanded him lightly, but was unable to completely hide her smile. "Hold your haori together and go home and put some clothes on."
"But I thought we had paperwork to do," he said feigning confusion.
"I'll take care of it, sir. Just put some clothes on," she ordered.
"As my Nanao-chan wishes," he said giving her a goofy grin. He dropped a kiss on the crown of her head, as she was unable to stop him with her hands busy holding the haori together, and then he quickly left the office reminding her to eat something.
Nanao turned back to her desk, piled high with paperwork, and sighed. Was there really nothing that man wouldn't do to get out of doing paperwork? She smiled lightly all the same, glad that he'd let her off the hook so easily for whatever she'd done. Now if only simply having a breakdown would convince her brother not to hate her. At least for the time being she could drown herself in paperwork and not think about it.
A/N: Sorry for the long delay in updates. I didn't honestly expect to be working 10 hours a day. When I come home I instantly eat and then fall asleep, which is severely cramping my rereading, editing, and posting style.
Hopefully you all liked this chapter, and are ok that depressed Shunsui didn't stick around too long. Poor depressed Shunsui, he's just not as much fun to write. Not that I can guarantee he won't make a few reappearances later on. Make my exhausting week better and give me some happiness inducing, and writing motivating, reviews!!
