"Nanao?"

Nanao groaned as her head gave a soft thump and she realized she was being shaken awake. "What?" The word came out cracked and dusty. She was dying for some water.

"You've slept long enough."

Nanao rolled and reached blindly on the bedside table for her glasses. She felt better than when Shunsui had woken her up earlier, but still had a dull headache and her stomach gave an upset twist. Her hands closed around a glass and she could have cried in joy when she found it full of water. At least her mother had thought to bring that if she was going to torture her. She gulped it down and found her glasses. Her mother sat on the other side of the bed looking at her disapprovingly. How in the world had she gotten the water over to the nightstand? Shunsui, her sluggish mind supplied. Bless that man.

"We need to talk."

"Get out," Nanao said before finishing the water and turning over to go back to sleep. She was not in a generous mood.

"Nanao, Kyouraku-san has been gone for a few hours now and I need to discuss this with you before he returns and you run off together again. It can't wait any longer."

That's right, he had patrol this morning with Jyuushiro. Nanao ignored her mother and reached out her senses looking for Shunsui. He was far out in the Rukongai, amped up for a fight, but not particularly concerned. She searched for Jyuushiro too and while she didn't read any deeper with him she did confirm that they were close to each other and safe. Her mother was still talking. Her two favorite men's safety now confirmed, Nanao closed her eyes and let the voice become white background noise as she dozed out again. This tonic really was lovely.

"Nanao!" She startled awake once more when her mother shook her so hard she swore she could feel her teeth rattling. "Get up this instant." She would have slept again despite the yelling if it weren't for her mother's persistent pushing hands.

"I'm up," she grumbled swinging her legs off the bed. She stumbled off to the bathroom and shut the door in her mother's face. She wondered if she could just camp out in here after she peed. Her mother squawking through the door convinced her otherwise. "I really have nothing left to talk about."

"Luckily that isn't up to you," her mother said trailing her as Nanao headed towards the kitchen.

"Where's Dad?"

"He, Katsumi, and Hachiro went for a walk. I'm sure they'll be back shortly. I told them not to stray far as it's still a military base and unsafe."

Nanao poured herself some water and braced herself as her head gave another thump. "Fine, what do you want?"

"This situation can't go on."

"And what situation is that?"

"You can't stay with Kyouraku-san if he won't marry you."

"I absolutely can. Let it go." She should have demanded to go on patrol with Shunsui. It would have been pure misery with the hangover, but it would have been better than dealing with her mother.

"I won't let it go and you shouldn't either. You let him do whatever he wants, play around with whoever he wants. In return he should be decent enough to marry you and give you some security."

"I don't need security. See the nice thing about being a working woman is I have money of my own and I'm doing just fine."

"It's shameful for your family, and his family doesn't seem opposed to you."

"I don't want to get married," she said with flagging hope that this conversation would end anytime soon.

"Everyone wants to get married."

"I don't. I just want to go back to bed." She drank the water and rolled two fingers across her temple.

"Fine then." Had she just won? Nanao looked up in surprise and saw a stubborn look on her mother's face, which was one of the only ways she knew they were related. This could not be good. "If you're going to act like a common prostitute, he should pay you for your services. We'll have to check the going rate in the pleasure districts, but I'm sure we can come to a reasonable sum."

Nanao went numb. Distantly she felt the glass slip through her deadened hold and heard the sound of shattering glass at her feet. "What did you just say?"

"I find it just as distasteful as you do," her mother said crossing her arms. "But you have to see that that is basically what you're doing living with a man. Sleeping with him freely. You've sullied yourself, and your carelessness is going to destroy your family."

"How do you figure that?" Nanao was surprised her voice came out so calm. Inside the shock had worn off and her rage was just starting to really boil.

"We're bankrupt, Nanao."

Well, that wasn't what she'd expected. "What are you talking about?" They weren't rich, but her family had always done well enough. Her mother controlled the finances like many traditional households and, despite liking to shop, kept the family well within their means. Her father had retired from the business a few years back, but she didn't think they were in dire straights. Besides Hachiro's family was dead so he'd been taken into her family instead of Katsumi going to his. His earnings should be helping to support the family. She said as much.

"Yes, that's part of the problem. You see Hachiro-san had some debts when he married your sister. We paid them off, but it decimated most of our savings. He guaranteed it wouldn't be a problem as he had some business deals in the works."

"So what happened?"

"They went bad. I know it wasn't Hachiro-san's fault, but we're essentially broke."

"And you'd hoped that Shunsui would marry me and help support the family."

"That or some other man would. But if he won't marry you and you won't leave him then we're going to have to find an alternative."

"Like me whoring myself?" she spat nastily. The anger she shoved down constantly when in her mother's presence swelled and wasn't willing to be beaten back into submission.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. He could just give us enough money for us to get through a few months and enough capital for Hachiro-san to get on his feet. Kyouraku-san would barely even notice it was gone. You deserve that much for years of service and the fact that he's made you unmarriageable. Even if you left him now I doubt we could find a suitable match to save us since no decent man would take cast offs. It's not like Kyouraku-san would be leaving the money on your bedside table. We could keep it very quiet. It's only fair."

The fury churned inside her chest and her vision narrowed. Kido sparked at her fingertips, causing her mother's eyes to widen and her to take a step back. Nanao closed her eyes and breathed deeply trying to calm herself and force her reiatsu back down. Controlling spiritual pressure was second nature and she hadn't had to struggle against her own power like this since she was very young. "So the only reason you came here was to torture me and then ask for handouts." It wasn't a question.

"Nanao, stop being so unreasonable. Your family needs you."

"My family needs me? Where have you ever been when I needed my family? I'm not going to whore myself for Hachiro's bad business decisions."

"Because whoring yourself for free is so much more noble? Respectable women don't do what you've done here. It isn't our fault you made these choices. It isn't our fault you debased yourself. We've supported you your whole life. Do you think you'd be here today if we hadn't put you in the academy? You'd have been hollow food somewhere and probably have taken us with you. I know you're upset we sent you off-"

"I'm not upset you sent me to the academy," Nanao said coldly trying to maintain her focus and keep a leash on her reiatsu, which was becoming harder and harder to do. "I'm thankful. I'm upset that you've been nothing but disappointed in me since you sent me off. Shunsui's family sent him away too when they couldn't handle his reiatsu, but they never treated him like he was an aberration."

"It's not our fault you love blood and gore. We sent you to the academy to get it under control so all this spiritual pressure nonsense could be placed firmly behind us, not for you to become a life-long solider. You were supposed to come home. You were supposed to have a respectable marriage once the problem was suppressed. How were we supposed to know you wouldn't be able to manage it?"

"Thank god Katsumi-chan could. Look how well that worked out."

"Are you really going to let your jealousy destroy your family? It isn't Katsumi-chan and Hachiro-kun's fault that they were better matched. You can't blame him for not wanting a woman like you. You're lucky Kyouraku-san looked at you twice, and now we need your help before he decides he no longer wants you as you've held nothing back. It's really only a matter of time."

"Get out." The door opened and Nanao heard the rest of her family returning.

"Nanao."

"Get out of this house. Get out right now."

"Haruka? Nanao?" She didn't spare the rest of her family a glance as they entered the kitchen, although her mother looked decidedly relieved at their return. "Nanao are you alright?"

"She's fine, she's just throwing a tantrum. You know how she can be," her mother said dismissively.

The rage snapped in her and she felt the kido roll over her body like when she was a child going through power growth spurts and lost control of her emotions. "Get out of this house."

"Nanao what is going on?" her dad asked wide eyed as her mother shuffled back from her anxiously.

The anger just notched higher at the thought that her father had been in on it. That her last defender in this family had allowed this to happen. "You came here to use me. To use Shunsui. And I want you out of this house this instant."

"What are you talking about? We came for your birthday and to tell you Katsumi is pregnant," her father explained trying to diffuse the situation.

"You haven't told him?" Her mother looked panicked, but even her father's innocence didn't serve to calm her down. "You're broke. Hachiro-san's brilliant business sense doesn't exist and you're here begging for money."

"It's not begging," her mother yelled, but backed away from her further as power crackled around her fingertips and behind her eyes. "Kyouraku-san owes it to us."

"Because he fucked me?" Nanao screamed. The kido fire raced down her fingers and started a small fire on the floor. She heard the front door slam open again and a second later Shunsui was in the room with Jyuushiro a moment behind.

"Nanao-chan?"

Her mother and sister started screaming. The two men were covered in blood, at least where it didn't blend in with the black of their shinigami uniforms. It was enough to startle Nanao out of her rage for a moment. She scanned them quickly and found them both unharmed, which brought her right back. "It's not theirs, stop screaming." She advanced, ignoring the little pieces of glass that pierced her feet, and the kido fire followed her. Jyuushiro slipped past her to douse it, but she barely noticed. "Get out."

Her sister was crying and clinging to Hachiro who looked just as terrified. Her mother was shaking, but didn't back up further. Her father pushed his way in between them. "Nanao, get control of yourself."

"She's trying to use us!"

"I know, you said that. But what are you planning to do? Kill your own mother?"

Nanao shook with repressed fury, but knew she was being ridiculous. She had no intention of killing her. Maim, maybe, but kill no. That didn't stop the kido fire though. She hadn't lost control like this in years. Then suddenly her family dropped to the floor and Shunsui was there smothering the flames and her raging reiatsu with his own. She wilted into his arms under the pressure. A moment later he let up and she sucked in a breath, careful to steady out her own control, as she gasped into his chest. He left his own reiatsu wrapped around her like a reassuring blanket while she reoriented herself.

"What in the world is going on?" he asked concerned. "I felt you lose control from the Rukongai."

"They need to leave."

"Nanao-chan, tell me what's going on."

"She's lost her mind," her mother supplied.

"They're broke," Nanao said with a bitter little laugh. "They're here to demand money from you in exchange for screwing me."

"You must have misunderstood," Shunsui said diplomatically, but he was looking at her father for answers and Nanao didn't miss it. Shunsui may not want it to be true, but he knew better than to doubt her at her word.

"I didn't misunderstand, but the jokes on them isn't it? Since you've never touched me," she said leaning back away from his chest. Her mother looked confused and she felt viciously victorious. "I've never had sex with Kyouraku Taicho. We're not even together. He was doing me a favor pretending to be interested in me. He owes you nothing. Now get the fuck out of his house."

"Nanao," Shunsui said softly pulling her more firmly into his arms. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I should have never involved you," she spat pulling away from him completely. "I'm sorry I ever lied. You owe us nothing."

"This isn't funny, Nanao," her mother said from the safety of her father's arms.

"It's not a joke. We were never together. I don't even know why you bought it. You clearly never believed a man like him would go for a girl like me. Well, good for you. You're right. He didn't. He lied because I asked him to and you won't get a cent out of him. Now pack your bags and leave."

"Do you mind terribly if I have a word with her?" Shunsui looped his arm around her waist before anyone could answer and dragged her down the hallway. "Nanao-chan, are you ok?"

"I'm pissed. Are you alright?"

"I can tell. You haven't lost control like that in a century. And I'm fine."

She scanned him again more thoroughly. He was hurting. "It got you."

"Just a scratch before Jyuushiro and I put it down. I blame the hangover."

"Still you should see to it. You should also be reporting to the 1st."

"Strangely enough I was more curious about why Nanao-chan almost burned my house down."

She pressed her lips together and turned away from him as they entered the bedroom. "I want them out."

"What exactly is going on? And do I even want to know why your feet are bleeding?"

She glanced down and realized she was leaving little blood smears in her wake on the floor. "Shit, sorry." She headed towards the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub before starting up a kido that was often used to remove shrapnel. Shunsui followed her and started stripping off his blood soaked clothing, dumping it into a trash bag he pulled out from beneath the sink. It said something about their lives that they were used to blooding clothing enough that they kept disposal items on hand.

"Yama-jii's going to be mad about the haori," he commented.

"I have a backup one for you. I bribed the 1st to order two last time." The last of the tiny glass shards came out and she dumped it in the trash working a healing kido spell through the shallow cuts on her feet although she was still too amped up to feel much pain. She was lucky she hadn't stepped on a bigger shard.

"And you didn't tell me until now?"

"You'd have taken it as an excuse to be reckless with your current one. It's tucked in the back of my lower desk drawer on the right hand side in the office."

He hissed and she glanced up to see a slice across his side as he removed his uniform top. Shunsui twisted to get a better look at it and frowned. "Stupid thing had nasty sharp tentacles."

Nanao stood and soaked a washcloth before moving his arm and running it gently over the wound. He flinched and she started up the kidos to sterilize and close it up. "I'm sorry I lost control."

"I'm not sure I'm the one you should be apologizing to."

"Well, I'm not apologizing to her. Hachiro-san bankrupted them. She's here looking for a handout. She was hoping you'd marry me so you'd be on the hook to help my family. When that didn't happen she decided you should pay for the privilege of sleeping with me. There, don't twist around violently in the next day or two and you should be fine."

"Your feet ok?"

"They're fine. I'll clean up the blood on your floors and get someone in to fix that burn spot. Finish changing. I'll grab you a new uniform."

She slipped out of the bathroom and dug into his closet finding a new top and pants for him before passing it to him through the door.

"How do you want to handle this?"

"I want them out. They don't deserve your hospitality."

There was silence from the bathroom and he emerged a minute later. "How bad is the money situation?"

"I don't know. She said bankrupt."

"Do they owe debts to anyone who is going to make problems?"

"I don't know. Probably, as apparently Hachiro-san had debts when he came into the family they had to pay. But it's none of your concern."

"Nanao, it's my concern because despite that little display I know you and you're still going to try to help your family. Your concern is my concern."

She shook her head fiercely. "No it isn't – not outside of work. Of course, I'm going to try to help them."

"And if the only way to help them is marrying someone who can?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"Just let me give them the money."

"Absolutely not, sir."

He sighed and sat down next to her. "Even if we're not lovers, aren't we still friends? Friends help each other."

"It's too much and it's inappropriate. Friends might buy each other dinner or a gift on their birthday. They don't cover their family's financial crisis."

"It's all relative. I want to help."

"No, and that's the end of that. I should have known she was just trying to get money out of you. So much for all that talk about how brilliant a businessman Hachiro-san is. I wish I could go back in time and never meet him. Then he wouldn't have known my sister and we wouldn't be in this situation."

"You can't blame yourself."

"Sure I can. I'm the one with the poor judgment who thought he was a decent man and brought him into our lives." Shunsui shifted next to her and looked away guiltily. "What?"

"It won't help anything."

"Shunsui," she growled in warning.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Hachiro implied to me once that he dated you to get in good with your family as his intention had always been to marry your sister, but he knew he couldn't pursue the younger sister first."

Huh, that hurt more than it should, a small sharp pain worming deeper into her stomach. Maybe it was still just the hangover, but it felt more like that nasty insecurity that sometimes crept into her and said her mother was right about her. "Oh."

Warm hands cupped her face and turned her to him to meet his eyes. "Which just further proves he's a lying piece of trash who never deserved to be with you. I'm sorry for your sister, but I'm not sorry that you dodged that particular bullet. I wouldn't want to have to be locked up in the maggot's nest for killing your dirtbag husband."

She choked on a laugh or a sob she wasn't quiet sure. "The Soutaicho would never lock you up just for that."

"No, you're right, he might have killed the man himself before I was able to." She shot him a doubtful look. "Honestly, after the tongue lashing I got from him on the subject of potentially breaking your heart I think Yama-jii has a crush on you."

"Oh stop," she laughed reaching behind her for a pillow and hitting him on the head. "The Soutaicho barely thinks of me at all."

"He likes you a great deal for keeping the 8th on track. I am expressly forbidden from courting you. I thought it was entirely unfair. Nanao-chan deserves a man who knows how beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful she is. I'm clearly a prime prospect."

Nanao blushed. It was nice to hear praise from the Soutaicho no matter how round about or self-serving it was. And while Shunsui's playful flirtations were the standard fare of over exaggeration, they were sweet and specifically designed to make her feel warm and happy. What did she care what Hachiro thought about her? He wasn't a man she was worried about impressing. The men who mattered knew her worth. She shoved her insecurities aside and focused on the matter at hand. "I need to deal with this."

"Let me help."

"You've helped enough. I shouldn't have even involved you. I should have just suffered through the dates and continued on as I had in the past. Really you should report in to the 1st and then spend the rest of the day with Jyuushiro-san. I don't mean to take over your home, but I really do want to sort this and I don't want you pulled into anything further." She stood and took a deep grounding breath. "Is Jyuushiro-san ok or does he need healing as well?"

"He came out unscathed. And my home is your home. Take all the time you need."

She nodded and left the room feeling him trail behind her. She found her father and Hachiro trying to comfort her mother and sister and Jyuushiro cleaning up the last of the glass and blood in the kitchen.

"Oh, Ukitake Taicho you don't have to do that." She rushed forward to help.

"It's fine." He waved her off. "It's already done."

"I'm so sorry."

"You're apologizing to him?" her mother asked shrilly. "You should be apologizing to us."

Nanao felt her anger flare up again and this time worked to collar it instantly. "Ukitake Taicho, you and Kyouraku Taicho should probably report to the first. I'm sorry my tantrum took you off course. It was unprofessional."

"It's fine, Nanao-san. Technically it's a day off and I've been telling Shunsui he needs to replace these old busted floor for years. Now he finally has a reason to."

She doubted that was true, but it was nice of him to say. "Dad, why don't you, Katsumi, and Hachiro-san go out to lunch? There's a nice restaurant three blocks over. Just make a right when you leave the house and you can't miss it."

"Nanao-"

"Mom and I are going to have a talk and sort this out. It'll be fine." It wouldn't be fine, but she was going to control her temper. The woman may be her mother, but Nanao had to stop letting her opinion matter to her. She was a small woman with an even smaller world view, and but for a heavy reiatsu Nanao could have been walking in her mother's footsteps just like her meek little sister. Still it was easier said than done.

"Come on," Shunsui said. "I'll show you where the restaurant is while Jyuu goes home and changes."

Nanao thought about telling him he was under no circumstance to pay for their lunch, but let that fight go as she watched her family file out. It wasn't until she heard Jyuushiro say, "You're right. I'll back you up on the dress code change for all women to wear men's button downs," to Shunsui that she realized she'd never changed. Could this day get any worse? She looked at her mother and sighed. It probably could. "So how bad is it?"

A/N: So the truth is finally out! Sorry to all those who were hoping for more of the hollow fight – I'll leave it to your imagination. Also obligatory call out to everyone in the US who can to get out and vote tomorrow!