Nanao had spent the better part of a week safely behind the doors of Eighth Squad. Not only had the snow grown worse making going outside almost physically impossible, not to mention the impossible amount of paperwork she had been left with, but Nanao simply could not take the whispers any longer. Never one to draw attention to herself she had suddenly found herself at the centre of Seireitei's hottest rumour and it was driving her mad. Everywhere she went her name cropped up, people going mysteriously quiet as she walked by, only to start their conversation again whilst she was still in earshot. Nanao, knowing that the situation was not so much a rumour but – as this week had demonstrated – a very frequent truth, had not been able to look anyone in the eye for days.

Rangiku on the other hand was ecstatic. They had attended a meeting together two days ago after Ukitake had insisted they all at least pretend that everything was alright, and Nanao had endured the prying questions of twelve insatiably curious fukutaicho for an entire afternoon. She would not have expected this sort of behavious from most of them but even Sasakibe was mildly interested in this sudden development. Admittedly she was dreading the last Ball meeting before the actual event occurred, where the entire Women's' Society would be present without exception.

She had contemplated feigning illness but Matsumoto would drag her along anyway.

It was mid-afternoon when Nanao finally decided to stop for a break. She had been working non-stop since early this morning, her concentration only punctuated by the constant snores of her captain – Shunsui – as he slept soundly at his desk. Nanao could not get used to calling him anything but 'Taicho' regardless of how much she reprimanded herself.

Her cheeks burning Nanao stood up and worked the cramp from her shoulder. Instinctively she glanced over to see if the sleeping man was still breathing but as always his sake induced coma had done him no real harm. She disapproved of him drinking in the middle of the afternoon but secretly it made her happy to see him enjoying himself again. He had been in remarkably good spirit since returning from the meeting with Yamamoto but she felt him toss about restlessly late at night, his eyes not succumbing to slumber until after dawn. It was unsurprising that she herself had not been getting any sleep of late, although that was not wholly attributed to anxiety.

Satisfied that things were as they should be Nanao followed the familiar route to the kitchen and did her best to ignore the hush that fell over everyone present. She glared at them with the expression she reserved only for her foulest moods and it seemed to do the trick.

'Would you like some tea Fukutaicho?' A young woman with dark hair and a pretty face asked her rather dryly. Nanao considered briefly, but instinct and Matsumoto had taught her to keep away from any female who had shown a remote interest in Kyouraku within the past century or so.

'No thank you. I have some more paperwork to catch up on,' Nanao replied with her best attempt not to snap at the woman. With a flick of her hair she turned back to her small group of friends – each of whom was staring at her with the same ravenous eyes – and Nanao was free to raid the cupboard in search of anything half edible.

She found some onigiri that were still borderline and was in the process of reaching for them when the world around her suddenly went dark.

'Guess who, Nanao-chan!' A deep voice sing-songed as his heavy hands succeeded in swamping her face. She sighed darkly but unsurprisingly it did not discourage his childish behaviour. 'That's right my lovely Nanao! It's your Shun-chan!'

Nanao pushed his hands away with some effort and met his puppy dog eyes with the appropriate amount of disdain. 'I refuse to call you that,' she reminded him for the countless time. 'Are you feeling refreshed?'

'I am full of energy! Did you have something in mind, Nanao-chan?'

She smiled darkly. 'Of course, the office is absurdly overfilled and it will take me weeks to catch up since I, once more, seem to be doing both of our paperwork. That will keep me occupied until my meeting.'

He shook his head. 'That's not what I had in mind...'

'If you will excuse me,' she said sharply and promptly left the kitchen, a trail of whispered conversation haunting her all the way down the corridor. Kyouraku wasn't far behind either. She had scarcely set foot in the main office when the door slammed behind her suddenly and his presence became known to her. 'You know you still own me for that yukata, Taicho, and I am not going to let you forget it just because...'

He had his lips upon hers before another harsh word could leave her mouth. Her face flared and as always she lost all control of her senses until their lips parted. She tried to shake the feeling off before the inevitable happened but already Kyouraku had pulled her into his tight embrace, his hand moving towards her obi belt. Nanao glanced fleetingly at the desk full of paperwork but any thought of it was soon stolen away.

Much to her dismay they were interrupted within a couple of seconds as Matsumoto came bounding into the office without as much as a knock. She assessed the situation in one quick glance, her cat-like grin spreading across her face.

'Please don't stop on my account,' she chimed as Kiyone and several others entered the room coyly. 'We were here to see if Nanao wanted to go shopping before the meeting tonight but if you are busy then we can leave again.'

'Leave again, Rangiku,' Nanao insisted. 'I would rather do paperwork than go shopping. Besides I spent all my money last time.'

'True but you still didn't find a kimono for the Ball. Nanao-chan spent every last penny she had in the bookshop.'

'I cannot be blamed for a one-day-only sale, Rangiku. I can just wear something upstairs. Heaven knows I have a ridiculous amount of kimono and yukata.'

'Nanao-chan also has a hidden pile of money somewhere too no doubt. For cases of emergency,' Rangiku continued to argue, 'such as a new kimono for the Ball she is practically responsible for holding together. You cannot escape Nanao; you are coming shopping before the meeting!'

She looked at Kyouraku desperately – there was something besides paperwork and shopping she would rather be doing right now. However he was smiling at her dopily, his cheeks red.

'I want to see my Nanao in a kimono,' he admitted. 'I want to go shopping too!'

'Sorry Kyouraku-taicho, you can't see her until the Ball,' Kiyone informed as Nanao was wrenched by the freakishly powerful combined grips of Nemu and Isane towards the door. 'I think Ukitake-taicho was looking for some company this afternoon.'

Kyouraku's look of mock hurt quickly evaporated as he grabbed the nearest sake bottle, stole a kiss from the restrained Nanao, and sped out the door in a succession of shunpo. Nanao sighed darkly and promptly broke free of her captors, trouncing the steps towards her room and the money she was about to squander on a kimono she would only wear once.

'Wow how much money do you have saved up?' Rangiku asked in amazement as she scouted the rather excessive stash she had buried in the depth of her wardrobe.

'Ten percent of every pay I have had since becoming a shinigami,' she informed matter-of-factly. 'Kiyone please don't touch that...'

The third seat managed to knock a precarious stack of books to the floor as half of the Women's society desecrated her room with their nosy fingers. For most of them it was their first time being in her room.

'Apologies Nanao-san,' the younger woman said sheepishly. 'I was just surprised you could stack books like that without them falling over.'

'Yes well,' she replied sharply. 'Shall we be off?'

Nanao watched everyone leave and kept her sigh to herself. This was the last thing she felt like doing today but it seemed there was nothing else for it. Matsumoto would never forgive her if she did not wear something new to the Ball. If Nanao was honest with herself – and this thought had only occurred to her late at night – she was rather apprehensive about the whole thing. She just had the feeling that whatever had been going on in Soul Society lately would come to a head then, that Yamamoto was waiting for every Shinigami of moderate strength to be present in the same place...

An opportunity like that did not occur often.

Wasting effort over pointless frivolities, when what everyone was wearing would probably be the least of any concern, just made her feel depressed. She doubted anyone else felt as she did, but deep down Nanao did not think she was being paranoid.

'Are you okay Nanao?' Rangiku asked suddenly, pulling Nanao out of her dark musings.

'It's nothing, shall we be off too?'

Her friend offered a concerned grin and Nanao found her head buried in a large bosomed embrace. 'You will see Kyouraku soon enough, there is no need to look so lovesick.'

Nanao did not correct her friend's misdiagnosis and said nothing else until they were trudging through the snow lined streets. Decorations for the Ball were already littering the road as the eager committee of female shinigami they had enlisted were hard at work. For those not invited to the Ball several parties all over the city would no doubt take place, as they always did every year. Kyouraku-taicho – Shunsui, she reminded herself again – had already given permission for Eighth Squad to hold their celebrations. Unsurprisingly it ended up being the biggest party, with the delegates of most other squads arriving with copious amounts of sake and usually a fair amount of people from the Ball as well. Last year it had gone on for three straight days, much to Nanao's annoyance, and had only ended when Kuchiki Byakuya had turned up in search of most of his squad, including his fukutaicho

He had never quite forgiven Abarai-kun.

It was with some disdain that she realised the Ball was only two days away. Kiyone and Isane were talking excitedly up ahead, occasionally sparing a look for the black aura that was trailing behind them rather unenthusiastically, but losing themselves to talk of who had asked who to dance last year. Despite herself, Nanao thought back to when she had danced with him and wondered if back then she had already been in love with him. It occupied her thought until she suddenly found herself being thrown head and foot into a blue kimono inside a shop she had no recollection of entering. It seemed they weren't following tradition this year by waiting until everyone else was satisfied.

Nanao felt like a ragdoll. Sighing, she wondered if he was having as much fun as her.

Shunsui walked behind Jyuushiro and pulled his haori closer to his body. It was so cold today, and it was getting even colder now that evening was approaching. His white haired friend was wrapped in so many layers that it was a wonder he could walk and it had made their task take far longer than it should. Unsurprisingly however, Jyuushiro had gone with blue hakama and a blue haori, like he did every year. He had gone for a paler shade this year admittedly but there was simply no variation in what the man wore. Shunsui on the other hand – with the aid of some conveniently placed female shinigami who had been stalking them since they left Thirteenth Squad – had gone for a deep reds and black.

He had it on good authority that his lovely Nanao-chan had made a similar choice – choice in the loosest sense of the word – but was not all together looking forward to the Ball. Her meeting would be over by the time he got back to the office and hopefully he would be able to pry the root of her concerns with some gentle persuasion.

The very thought of this made him want to shunpo all the way back to Eighth Squad.

'I guess we part here Shunsui,' Jyuushiro confirmed as they reached the familiar fork in the road. 'Please try and get some sleep before the Ball. You do look tired.'

'I will admit Nanao-chan isn't the only thing keeping me up at night,' he joked but it succeeded only in making his friend frown. 'Sorry for making you worry so much lately. I do try not to worry about everything but I can't help it'

Jyuushiro folded his arms. 'If Yamamoto is going to make a move it is more than likely he will be making it soon.'

'I wish he would hurry up, I can't stand waiting for things to go wrong when it is so obvious that they inevitably will.' He sighed darkly. 'I suppose I will see you at the Ball then.'

'Goodnight,' Ukitake smiled and disappeared in the flash of an eye.

Shunsui followed his friend's example and bared the cold so that he could reach home faster. It was fully his intention to go to bed as soon as he talked with Nanao-chan, he felt so tired all of a sudden, but of course it would not be as simple as that. An ambush awaited him as he entered the main building. Half the squad it seemed were there to see exactly what he would be wearing. It was his privilege as captain not to tell them of course but somehow from that he ended up in the kitchen drinking sake before he realised what was going on.

Not wishing to be rude he indulged in a couple of cups, not enough to have any sort of effect on his behaviour, and excused himself as soon as he saw he could. Leaving the noise behind him as he walked the corridor Shunsui found the door to his office shut tightly, which was odd in itself because neither he nor Nanao ever fully closed the door if they were alone. Frowning slightly he turned the handle and entered cautiously.

'Welcome back,' Nanao said distractedly as she walked across the room to retrieve a large portfolio from his desk and walked back to her own. She looked up when she realised he was still standing half in the doorway. 'What? Are you ill, do you need me to get you something?'

He shook his head. 'I was wandering why you closed the door.'

She leaned back in her chair. 'Because the racket coming from outside is distracting me. Everywhere I looked today there were party preparations going on; it is rather infuriating that I seem to be the only person who has remembered that there is still an entire day of work left before any party will be happening.'

'It's not like you Nanao. Usually the noise manages to goad you into paperwork frenzy, not distract you,' Shunsui confirmed as he finally entered the room, closing the door behind him. 'What exactly is concerning you about the Ball?'

She looked a little taken back by his sudden question but answered none the less. 'It is probably nothing but I can't help but feel that something bad will happen. The strongest Shinigami in Seireitei gathered together, without their weapons, off guard; it is the perfect opportunity for Yamamoto-soutaicho to do something.'

Shunsui sank onto the sofa and began ringing the moisture from his hair. 'The same thought had occurred to me. But it's not like we are defenceless without our Zanpaktou either; even Yamamoto could not win against multiple captains.'

'That is true. But you have to take into consideration the contents of the two scrolls that went missing. I have no idea what that forbidden scroll contained but if there was something in there he could use...'

'Nanao, there is nothing in there that he could use.'

'Surely there must be some forbidden kidou that he could use, something that got the scroll confiscated in the first place?'

'Nanao, you misunderstand me. There is nothing in the scroll. It's blank – Jyuushiro and I, many years ago back at the Academy, were experimenting with some of the kidou it contained and somehow managed to erase what was written there.'

'You and Ukitake-taicho erased an entire scroll of powerful kidou and were not exiled for your dangerous meddling? The Academy has strict rules about...'

'We realised that years later. The scroll was sealed before we could find out where the contents of the writing went – we concluded after some research that it had not entirely disappeared but was merely transferred somewhere else. With the scroll sealed we did not have to worry about it, but all this recent business has gotten us concerned again. The second scroll that was taken – it was from the exact date of the accident.'

Nanao pushed her glasses up stiffly, her blue eyes concerned. 'What would happen if Yamamoto was to somehow reopen the forbidden scroll?'

'There are several possibilities. The first is that he would find it blank and, knowing we were the last people to consult it, have an excuse to exile myself and Ukitake from Soul Society. Failing that the scroll would restore itself if the other one was present, but we believe there is some sort of key behind that happening – a trigger of some sort. We believe this is the most likely.'

She shook her head mildly. 'It seems my concerns were well founded after all. There is no way to prepare for what we might face then.'

'I am afraid not,' he confirmed with a yawn. He felt better now that he had finally got the bulk of his concerns off his chest. They were still there, at least now he had someone besides Jyuushiro to share them with. 'I am sick of worrying about it Nanao.'

Nanao rubbed her eyes and closed the folio she was reading. 'I can't concentrate anymore; I think I will go to bed.'

Shunsui smiled tiredly. 'What a coincidence, that is exactly where I was about to suggest we go.'

'You never miss an opening, do you Taicho?'

He shook his head. 'You can't call me that anymore, Ise-fukutaicho.'

She offered him a weary grin. 'Good night then, Shunsui.'

He grabbed her hand as she walked past, kissing her gently on the forehead. 'Don't think you can escape me that easy, Nanao.'

Nanao had awoken on the day of the Ball with a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was early morning and she could hear Shunsui snoring gently next to her, his face lost in a peaceful slumber. She lay there a couple of minutes, watching him as daylight began to seep through the crack in the curtains. He mumbled something incoherent about flowers and kittens, his eyes opening slightly and – seeing it was still relatively dark – returned to the realm of slumber. Nanao almost decided to follow him but somehow she knew that going back to sleep would be impossible. There was yet another Ball meeting today concerning some emergency that had arisen with some pointless decoration or other. It had been her intention to not go but once again Matsumoto had gotten her way as always and in a little over two hours she would be taking notes at top speed.

With a yawn Nanao got out of the futon, stepped carefully over the sleeping form, and crossed the hall to her own room. She had been neglecting doing laundry recently and was down to her final set of robes; it occurred to her that she would not be able to do any washing for a couple of days. Her mind was too heavy to be concerned about this and she felt a headache grow as she walked to the office. To her surprise she heard hushed voices echoing through the partially closed door. Nanao sighed darkly, this happened every single year.

'My, aren't we eager to get some work done today?' Nanao asked shortly as she rounded on the three female shinigami who were silently trying to search the office for whatever Kyouraku was wearing.

'Fu-fukutaicho!' They said in unison, their faces a mask of shock and dread.

Nanao crossed her arms. 'Haven't you learned by now that he doesn't keep what he is wearing to the Ball in sight of anyone? If you want a hint then you need to ask Matsumoto-fukutaicho. Or would you rather stay here and help me get through that mountain of paperwork?'

They sped from the office before Nanao could even blink. Shaking her head but glad at least they were out of her hair she sat down with the intention of working out possible outcomes for tonight. She wished she had an excuse to see Yamamoto before the Ball but there was nothing that would require her to go all the way to the central plaza. And since her plans never went accordingly her thoughts were punctuated by the untimely visit of Rangiku.

'I knew you would be awake, Nanao,' her red haired friend confirmed with a wink. 'I was so excited that I couldn't sleep! Do you want to go to the meeting a little early?'

'Well actually I was hoping to-'

'-I knew you would agree! We can grab some breakfast on the way.'

'You seem to know an awful lot this morning, Rangiku.'

Matsumoto waved her comment aside with a gesture of her hand and pulled Nanao towards her long, dull day of activity. Regardless of how much she tried, she could not get into the spirit of the day along with everyone else. And no amount of excited babbling or admiring the great job everyone had done with the decorations could change that. Rangiku pulled her from meeting to meeting with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, then threatened to tie her to the chair when she tried to excuse herself when the girly screams became too much. It was late afternoon when, finally, she was allowed to return to Eighth Squad.

There was a pit of nerves in her stomach.

To her utter horror Shunsui was still lying in bed when she thought it would be prudent to try and find if at least one of them had managed to get some work done today.

'Taicho! It's almost dark again!' She reprimanded as she tried to shake him awake. He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her down next to him, his large arms engulfing her small frame.

'You can't call me that anymore Nanao-chan,' he reminded her gently, his lazy eyes meeting her. She felt her cheeks blaze. 'Are you alright?'

'No,' she answered honestly. 'I just have this horrible feeling.'

He held her closer, their lips meeting. 'I've got you, my lovely Nanao. You're safe as long as I'm here.'

Nanao felt herself move even further against him.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

AN: First thanks to everyone for their reviews! And also it is again after 2am so please as always forgive my grammar/spelling. Well things are coming to a climax and I can't wait to see what happens, I still have not decided how to end it but I am looking forward to seeing everyone dressed for the Ball. If you can think of what you would like to see other character's wearing then tell me and I will try and work it in. I look forward to seeing everyone in Chapter 13...