Nanao sat at her desk, pen working away quickly and with a brutality she could only release on the thin surface of the reports. After the incident in Rukon, Shunsui had not let her out of his sight from the moment she left her house in the morning to when she returned in the evening. She had even had to point out how ungentlemanly of him it would be for him to stay with her, then why she would not stay in the barracks. One would think an assassin had targeted her, not a random group of men wanting any Soul Reaper.
Some, Rangiku, would call it romantic. Most, Rangiku, would point out she should be happy her captain cared so much. One, Rangiku, didn't get a single reason why she was annoyed.
Said someone was lounging on the vice-captain's couch, eyeing the man working in the room in front of them with a small smile. "He's working on paperwork, that's another upside." She pointed out, earning her a dirty look from her friend. "I'm just trying to help.
"Keep your advice to yourself Matsumoto." Nanao answered in a cutting voice. "Or tell someone who'd listen. Speaking of which, isn't Gin expecting you somewhere?"
The woman's face lit up, a sharp contrast to the dour mood filling the office. "That's right! Thanks Ise-san!"
Scowling after her, Nanao pushed up her glasses and returned to work before she gave into the temptation to kido the man who looked at her as though he was ready to follow should she move to join her friend.
"Sir," She said shortly, annoyed by his head snapping up like she was going to be surrounded by hooded men. What an idiot, he would have sensed their presence before she even got a word out. Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Have you finished for today? I need to know so I can send a butterfly for the third seat so they can turn them in since I can't leave without you following like a dog."
The disdain in her voice was clear and she even allowed herself some pleasure at the wince her words called up. "Ah, yes, thank you Nanao."
She went through the process of sending the Hell Butterfly before walking over with the papers she had finished to place them on his stack of completed files. As she turned to return to her seat, he caught her wrist.
It was instinct, caused by her high strung nerves. She whipped around, the blue light flying from her hand to strike through the wall where her captain's head had been just a second before. Her apology died on her lips as he stared up from where he'd ducked, disbelief clearly etched on his face. Instead, she let loose a verbal lashing that had been building up for days.
"I had every intention of dealing serious damage there, so do you still belief I can not take care of myself? I am capable of fighting anything thrown at me, that is what the Academy is for. And if you think after this I will allow you, of all the most untrustworthy people, to follow me, when you are so susceptible to Saki, without objection, you are mistaken sir."
Her being and aura was ice as she started to turn away from him, but his quiet voice made her pause. "I'm sorry."
Nanao turned, "What?"
Looking sheepish, Shunsui smiled nervously at her. "I should have more faith in you and I was planning to apologize sooner but every time I opened my mouth you looked like you were going to kill me, so, I'm sorry Nanao-chan." He wilted under her cold gaze.
She leaned over his desk, hands firmly placed on the desk so she didn't lose any stability. "You think 'I'm sorry' will make up for you undermining any respect the squad has given me, of all the events I've had to cancel because of your tagalong antics?" Nanao hissed, feeling surprisingly better now that she was allowing the anger within in her to whip out as she had not done in years.
"Um, no."
"Correct."
"Then, how about this?"
It was only a moment between the time she noticed the playful smile on his face and when his lips were melding with hers, a shock of surprise and chemistry striking through her body as he stood to tenderly hold her body to his.
With a shriek of outrage that held a tinge of regret, she pulled away, swatting him with the thick file she lifted from his desk. Turning away from his stunned and bruising face, she pushed past the hulking form of the wide-eyed third seat in her efforts to get out of the same room as the man who called such a mixture of emotions from the dept of her mind and soul.
Her feet carried her to the place that had always been a safe haven to her, from when she was a little kid to today. She say among the books of the Gotei's library, in a section so deep in the history section that she had to conjure up her own kido light to see if she wanted to. But, the confused woman preferred to sit in silence and darkness as she struggled to sort out what she was feeling.
That annoying man had even made it impossible to speak to her Zanpakto, her mind thrown into such disarray that to even attempt was to put her beloved place in danger. Some logical part of her pointed out it wasn't really his fault, but it was so much easier to blame him for everything that had happened.
It was his fault Lisa disappeared, his fault she had to be cold and apart from everyone, his fault she was know as a shrew and his fault she was in love with him.
Her eyes snapped open as he banished this thought. What a nonsense notion, really. She couldn't be in love with him, the whole concept was a lie.
Nanao shook her head, glancing up at the light moving through the bookcases. "Nanao?"
Whispering denial to herself at the shiver that coursed through her, she stood, knowing if she avoided him it would only lead to this scene again. She called an answer, "I'm going to head home for today since our work is done."
"Okay, see you tomorrow, my Nanao-chan."
As she walked passed him, she glanced at him, wondering if he had always said it like that and if she'd just ignored the possessive overtones.
Was that a good return chapter, I hope so for your enjoyment! Please review
~Willow