Hello guys, I'm happy that you all enjoyed the last two chapters. Thank you very much for all your reviews and comments. I'm considering whether or not to write a bleach Christmas special fic. If I do it may effect when the next chapter may be posted. I'm not sure yet. I'll wait and see what you guys think after reading this chapter :O

Someone To Watch Over You Chapter 21

Two hours. Rangiku glanced at the clock ticking away on the bedside table for the umpteenth time. What was taking him so long? Shunsui had left two hours ago and he still hadn't returned, surely it shouldn't be taking him this long? She felt worried and she seriously hoped that he hadn't run into any trouble.

So far Nanao hadn't woken up yet, despite Shunsui's prediction that she would be asleep for at least another hour. Rangiku had been keeping a close eye on her and once or twice Nanao had shown signs of growing restless, yet she had remained asleep. At one point it looked like Nanao was shivering in her sleep so Rangiku had placed an extra blanket over her only to find that Nanao's skin was burning up. The first thing Rangiku had done, was to grab a cloth and dampen it with cold water and place it over Nanao's forehead.

She had no problem with looking after Nanao, after all Nanao had taken care of her countless times over the years whenever she'd come crashing into Nanao's quarters unannounced at stupid o' clock in the morning. Nanao had always been nice about it and helped Rangiku to bed despite her drunken behaviour.

Nanao made some small noise of discomfort and Rangiku twisted around on the edge of the bed to look at her. Rangiku could see that Nanao had a scowl on her face and wondered whether her friend was beginning to have a nightmare of some sort.

Rangiku placed her palm against Nanao's cheek and peeled the damp cloth off Nanao's forehead, she could see a few beads of sweat dotting her face. Nanao shifted in her sleep, her hands fisted into the bedsheets and her head rolled to one side. A small distressed moan escaped from her lips and the rest of her body seemed to be trying to twist away from whatever was haunting her sleep.

"Nanao," Rangiku called softly as she placed both her palms against Nanao's cheeks, "Its okay you just need to wake up."

Nanao's hands came up and latched tightly onto Rangiku's wrists and her legs began to flail and kick about. Her chest was heaving and a strangled cry filled the room.

"Shh come on Nanao, please wake up for me."

It was as if Nanao had heard Rangiku's request, her eyes suddenly flew wide open and Nanao's loud scream filled the room. The hands that had been latched onto Rangiku's wrist were suddenly flailing and trying to push her away instead. Nanao was writhing and trying to twist away from Rangiku in a blind panic.

"Nanao!" Rangiku called loudly, trying to grab her attention so she could calm her down, "I'm not trying to hurt you, will you calm down?"

It took a few minutes for Nanao's initial panic to pass and once she'd realised where she was and who Rangiku was she soon stopped struggling against Rangiku and instead she flopped back heavily against her pillows, while slamming her eyes shut and panting heavily.

"Nanao?" Rangiku questioned as she placed her hand against the side of Nanao's neck, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Rangiku," Nanao gasped out, her voice was hoarse from where she'd been screaming, "What are you doing here?" She asked opening her eyes which darted from side to side nervously, "Where's Shunsui?"

"Shh just breathe honey," Rangiku soothed, "You're a little disorientated."

Nanao draped her arm over her eyes, "What's going on..."

Rangiku frowned and tilted her head to one side as she observed Nanao, It was quite disconcerting to see Nanao in such a nervous, dishevelled state and so unlike herself. Once she were satisfied that Nanao had calmed down somewhat Rangiku helped ease her into a sitting position, reaching around Nanao's back she made sure to readjust the pillows.

"Rangiku, where's Shunsui?" Nanao asked quietly.

"He just needed to run out somewhere," Rangiku didn't think telling her exactly where Shunsui had gone was a good idea at present, "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Nanao turned her face away from Rangiku unable to meet her eye, "I see," she replied her voice hitching unexpectedly.

"Oh Nanao look at me," Rangiku gently cupped Nanao's chin and turned her so she could see her face, "You don't have to hide your tears from me," she pulled Nanao into a hug who buried her face into Rangiku's shoulder, "I know things have been hard for you lately."

"How do you know that?" Nanao's muffled voice came from Rangiku's shoulder.

"I had a good talk with Shunsui before he left," Rangiku could feel Nanao trembling in her arms, "He told me you've been feeling unwell."

"How much did he tell you?" Nanao enquired, Rangiku thought she detected a hint of alarm in Nanao's voice.

"Oh you know," Rangiku replied in a cheerful tone and pulling out of their hug, "Just that you've been feeling kinda stressed out, exhausted and a little bit ill," Shunsui had warned Rangiku that he didn't think Nanao was fully aware of how bad she'd been and Rangiku knew it wasn't her place to say. She planted her palm flat against Nanao's forehead, "See you're burning up honey. Don't worry I'll take care of you till Shunsui returns."

"Did he say where he were going?" Nanao's brow creased into a frown, "I cant feel his reiatsu anywhere."

That was strange Rangiku thought, she'd kept a constant lock on Shunsui's reiatsu since he'd been gone and she could feel him just fine, she could tell he was still out in the Rukongai. She only hoped that he was actually gathering information and hadn't succumbed to having a 'few drinks'. If that was the case she would strangle him when he returned, "He didn't say exactly where he were going, I bet he's just got a tight hold on his reiatsu today."

Nanao pushed the bed covers to one side and swung her legs over the side of the bed, Rangiku noticed how Nanao's sleeping robe was hanging loosely off her frame. Shunsui hadn't been kidding when he'd mentioned that Nanao had hardly been eating.

"Nanao shouldn't you stay in bed?" Rangiku exclaimed as Nanao pushed herself unsteadily to her feet.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," Nanao replied a little annoyed, Rangiku knew Nanao hated it when people fussed over her.

"Oh I see, I'm sorry," Rangiku watched as she slowly crossed the room heading for the bathroom swaying slightly as she went.

Once Nanao had shut the door Rangiku summoned a hell butterfly and quietly relayed the message to Shunsui that Nanao had woken up. Just as it'd fluttered out the room and out of sight Nanao emerged from the bathroom.

Nanao had only made it halfway across the room when she suddenly lost her balance and started staggering to one side. Rangiku shot up from the bed and steadied her before she could actually crash to the floor, "Nanao?"

"I'm fine, I just went a little dizzy Rangiku," Nanao allowed Rangiku to steer her back to the bed.

"I know just what you need Nanao," Rangiku sat down next to Nanao and draped her arm around her shoulders, "I'll make you a nice cup of tea and whip you up something to eat. What do you say?"

"Thanks, but I'm really not hungry."

"At least have a little something," Rangiku persisted, she wasn't happy at all with Nanao's current state.

"I said I'm not hungry Rangiku!" Nanao snapped back angrily.

Rangiku was astonished by the sudden switch in Nanao's mood. Nanao realising that she'd just bitten Rangiku's head off, slumped forward and buried her face in her hands. Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders creating a curtain around her face. "I'm so sorry Rangiku," she sighed heavily, "I don't know what's wrong with me lately," Nanao lifted her head and turned to face Rangiku, "I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Its okay Nanao," Rangiku rose from the bed and stepped in front of Nanao, she rested her hands against Nanao's shoulders and gently pushed and guided her to lay back down on the bed. She stroked a few stray strands of black hair away from Nanao's forehead, "You don't need to apologise to me," Rangiku knelt down beside the bed and Nanao turned onto her side to face her.

"I feel like I'm a horrible person," Rangiku saw Nanao's eyes shining with unshed tears, "It will only be a matter of time before Shunsui realises this and decides to leave me."

"Shunsui will not leave you," Rangiku said matter-of-factly, "He loves you Nanao, and he really cares for you. The last thing he would do is leave you."

"But how do you know that!" Nanao was beginning to grow agitated again. She tried to sit back up but Rangiku pushed her back down gently.

"I just know," Rangiku replied softly, "Now you stay here and rest Nanao, I'll just be down the hallway in the kitchen," She made to brush a strand of hair out of Nanao's face, however when Rangiku's palm neared her face, Nanao flinched away. Noticing this Rangiku couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought for a moment there, that you were going to force me to sleep," Nanao quickly averted her gaze, unable to meet her eye, "I don't want to go to sleep Rangiku."

"I'm not going to force you to sleep honey," Rangiku replied tilting her head to one side. Shunsui had mentioned that Nanao had been avoiding sleep and that he'd been using Inemuri, a technique where a person knocks the victim unconscious by placing their palm in front of their face, literally forcing them into a slumber. She understood why Shunsui was performing it on Nanao. She desperately needed to rest in order to overcome her exhaustion and recover her spiritual pressure levels. However looking at Nanao now, it was pretty obvious she felt very agitated at the prospect of being forced to sleep again. Rangiku had a hunch that while Shunsui's intentions were good, she thought that maybe Shunsui was doing more harm then good. If Nanao truly feared going to sleep, then wouldn't that just cause her more stress and anxiety in the long run? And wouldn't that explain why Nanao refuses to open up to him about why she's avoiding sleep, especially if Shunsui is trying to force her to sleep. Rangiku sighed, Shunsui wasn't kidding when he mentioned that he really needed her help. With her mind made up she rose to her feet, she would try and get Nanao to eat something then she would try and find out more about Nanao's sleep related anxiety. "You just stay here and rest okay, I wont be too long."

She saw Nanao give her a tiny nod, satisfied she padded quietly across the room and slipped out into hallway.

Back at the Tenth Division, Toushiro had finished his morning training sessions and now he was back in his office busily working through the days paperwork. When he'd returned home to have a quick shower and freshen up, he'd been surprised to find that Rangiku hadn't yet returned from her SWA meeting. They'd agreed to have lunch together and he'd waited quite awhile for her, but Kotaro had been growing irritated and so in the end he'd made some lunch for the two of them. After another hour Rangiku still hadn't returned so instead he'd headed to the office and decided to let Kotaro have his nap there instead. Who knew how long the SWA meeting would last, especially when you had a bunch of women chatting about whatever.

He rubbed at his eyes warily as he went over the figures for the next quarters budget report. It was a very long and tedious task where every single calculation mattered, right down to the last yen. Admittedly he still had a whole two weeks left to complete it and send it back to the First Division, but while Kotaro was napping on the couch and Rangiku was still out he figured now would be the perfect opportunity to look it over and make a few rough calculations.

He heard a few footsteps outside the office door which was followed by a particularly loud knock which had him scowling as it broke his concentration midway through a calculation. He quickly glanced at Kotaro and felt even more annoyed that the noise had disturbed his sons sleep who was now beginning to stir.

There was another loud knock and Toushiro growled before yelling, "Yes! What is it?"

The door opened cautiously and Momo stepped into the room "Hi Shiro-chan!" Momo greeted happily.

"Momo how many times do I have to tell you," he begun exasperated.

"Its Captain Hitsugaya to you!" Kotaro piped up from the couch.

Toushiro glanced over to his son who was now sat up and grinning back at him, clearly pleased with his comment. Kotaro's little comment had earned him an "Aww" from Momo.

Toushiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why are you here Momo?"

"Auntie Momo hug!" Kotaro called out before he launched himself off the couch and sped across the room, Momo knelt down and Kotaro bowled into her arms.

"Aww Kotaro you're so sweet," Momo squealed as she planted a kiss on Kotaro's cheek, "Its so hard to believe at times that you're related to Toushiro, he were such a brat when he were younger."

"HEY!" Toushiro called out in irritation, his eyebrow was twitching and he'd clenched his hand into a fist. He would not be ignored in his own office damn it. His raised voice cut straight through Kotaro's squeals and Momo's gushing and silence finally descended in the office.

"I'm sorry Daddy," Kotaro detached himself from Momo and padded over to Toushiro, "Don't get angry and shout."

"I'm not angry little man," Toushiro scooped Kotaro up and perched him on the edge of his desk.

"But you did shout," Kotaro pointed out as he kicked his little legs back and forth as they dangled off Toushiro's desk.

"Okay I shouted," Toushiro admitted, "But I'm not angry."

"But you only ever shout when you're angry," Kotaro added with a little frown, he even crossed his arms over his chest in a perfect imitation of Toushiro.

"Kotaro, I may be a little irritated but I'm by no means angry," Toushiro sighed warily, "Now be quiet for a minute."

Kotaro pouted at him but remained quiet, Toushiro then turned back to Momo, "Momo is there a reason why you're here?" He asked in a much calmer tone.

"I came to see you, Rangiku-san and Kotaro silly," Momo stepped forward and threw her arms around him in a tight hug, "The last time I saw you was before you went away on your mission."

"Oh that's right," Toushiro remembered guiltily how Momo had dropped off the mission notes and even then she'd only stayed a few minutes. Toushiro sat himself back down on his chair and Momo stepped over to the desk. Kotaro who'd kept quiet the whole time shuffled along the edge of the desk so he could cuddle Momo.

"I'm just here for a quick visit Toushiro, I actually stopped by to ask Rangiku-san something."

"You're out of luck I'm afraid Momo. Rangiku still hasn't returned from the SWA meeting," Toushiro glanced at the clock ticking away on the wall behind him. It was pushing on for three hours now, surely a meeting shouldn't last that long. Unless Rangiku had decided to stop out for lunch, but saying that, she would've sent him a message first and she wouldn't stay away from Kotaro for too long without a damn good reason, "Hang on a minute," Something went click in his mind, "Aren't you a member of the SWA too Momo?"

"Yes I am," Momo confirmed, "And that's why I'm here to see Rangiku, to see if she knew why the meeting had been cancelled and when the next one will be taking place."

"Wait the meeting was cancelled?" Toushiro asked rising to his feet, his mind was currently running through the different scenarios and possibilities, "Who cancelled the meeting Momo?"

"Well the only person who could've cancelled it, is Nanao-san," Momo paused as she considered something, "The message definitely originated from the Eighth."

Toushiro scowled deeply, they didn't call him a genius for nothing. He knew exactly where Rangiku was now, it was blatantly obvious. The meeting had been cancelled while Rangiku was en-route, she must've known that Nanao was the only one who could cancelled the meeting. So naturally she'd taken advantage of the situation knowing that he was looking after Kotaro and had gone over to the Eighth to see Shunsui and Nanao. Damn it, and after he'd told her specifically to not get involved.

"Um Toushiro is it something that I've said?" Momo asked timidly.

"Daddy's face has gone really red, he's going to explode!" Kotaro informed confused about whether he should be amused or scared.

"Toushiro?" Momo reached out and nudged his arm, which brought him out of his inner fuming, "I need to head back to the Fifth now, I've got quite a bit of work to catch up on. It was nice seeing you again."

"Okay Momo," He answered quietly, "I'll pass your message onto Rangiku when she returns."

Kotaro looked mournfully up at Momo, sad to see her leaving so soon, "Will Auntie Momo come and visit again soon?"

"Aww you're so cute Kotaro, of course I'll come and visit soon," She replied pulling him into a squishy hug. After bidding the two of them farewell Momo headed back to the Fifth leaving Toushiro fuming about what the hell Rangiku could be up to.

"Daddy," Kotaro called tugging on his sleeve.

Toushiro turned his attention to Kotaro, "What is it little man?" He asked softly trying hard not to appear angry.

"I'm still tired, can I have a cuddle?"

"Sure," Toushiro slipped off his Captains haori and placed it on the back of his chair, he then stepped over to a cupboard in the corner of the room and pulled out a blue blanket that he kept to one side for Kotaro. He then walked back over to the couch and stretched out on it, Kotaro came piling on top of him and snuggled up on his chest. He carefully spread the blanket on top of them and he lay back into the cushions. He did feel kinda tired himself and although the budget report was far from complete, everything else had been attended to, so he figured if he fell asleep at least the division wouldn't fall into chaos.

While balancing several plates and dishes in one hand and two cups in the other, Rangiku used her foot to slide the kitchen door open. Stepping inside Shunsui's kitchen she dumped all the pots in the sink and turned on the hot tap.

Her plan to get Nanao to eat something had been quite successful and now she was proceeding with plan B. Trying to get Nanao to relax. She'd figured if she could get Nanao to relax enough, then just maybe she would stand a chance of getting her to talk and open up about what was making her feel so anxious and agitated.

So while she was washing up the dinner pots, Nanao was taking a nice relaxing hot bath just as Rangiku had suggested.

Shunsui still hadn't returned yet but Rangiku could still feel his strong presense and by the feel of it, he was slowly making his way back to the Seireitei. Rangiku had a hunch that he'd found something out and was simply using the walk back to mull it over.

So it was understandable that she felt a moments confusion when she heard Shunsui's front door open and then closeagain, she stopped what she were doing to listen in. She had no idea who it could be, the person had completely suppressed their reiatsu. It was quite fortunate that she too had done the same, but she hadn't done it too sneak around someone else's house, she'd done it because she knew Toushiro would be angry if he knew she were here.

She backed right up against the kitchen wall so if the person did look into the kitchen, she would be hidden behind the door when it opened. She heard soft footfalls in the living room and then the person began to head down the hallway towards the kitchen.

The footsteps paused right outside the kitchen however the person chose not to open the door seeing as there were no sounds to be heard or reiatsu signatures to be felt within. Rangiku knew it wasn't like her to be passive like this, but whoever was sneaking around here clearly wouldn't be expecting to find her here. She also had to be cautious, she couldn't imagine many people would have the gall to willingly stroll into a Captains house to have a nose around, they would have to be incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.

Rangiku's instincts were screaming out at her that this person knew exactly what they doing here and also knew that Shunsui was presently elsewhere.

Once the person had moved off down the hallway, Rangiku padded silently over to the kitchen door, while praying that Shunsui kept his doors well oiled as she reached for the handle to slide it open a crack.

She cautiously peered out into the hallway and saw a tall figure wearing a white haori type robe with long black hair trailing down their back, gliding soundlessly away from her towards Shunsui's bedroom. The only sounds in the house were the occasional splashes coming from the bathroom, from where Nanao was having her bath unaware of the approaching trespasser. The person obviously hearing the sounds was heading in that direction.

Rangiku saw the white robe and immediately thought that the person was a Captain, however the long hair trailing down the back covered any potential kanji markings that identified who they were. Long black hair. Out of all the Captains there were presently only four who had black hair. Both Soifon and Unohana could be ruled out, they were both much shorter then this man. Rangiku knew it was a man because of the wide shoulders and lack of curves. Which left either Kuchiki or Kenpachi, but she immediately ruled both of them out. Kenpachi was much taller and bulkier then this man, not to mention he generally had his hair spiked and Kuchiki's hair was considerably shorter.

So who could it be? Who else wore white haori's other then the Captains. The realisation struck Rangiku like a bolt of lightening and she had to suppress a gasp of surprise. Didn't the members of Central 46 wear similar haori's? But surely they had no right to send someone snooping around a Captains house, did they? And if they were here for Shunsui, surely they would have knocked first rather then just inviting themselves in. It was also blatantly obvious to everyone that Shunsui wasn't home, his massive presense could be felt all the way across the Seireitei. Rangiku noticed that he'd seemed to have sped up and was hurrying back over here. Did he know he had an intruder?

The only conclusion she could reach was that Central 46 were in fact here for Nanao, why else would they sneak around while Shunsui was away. It would be their only opportunity to get to Nanao while he was out the way.

Rangiku gritted her teeth together as she saw the man slip into Shunsui and Nanao's bedroom. No wonder Shunsui disliked leaving her alone lately, he must have suspected something like this would happen. But still something felt wrong about it all. Surely Central 46 would only get involved after the situation had been refereed to them by the Head-Captain.

Having no time to lose, Rangiku grabbed the nearest tray which felt pretty heavy in her hands and slipped out the kitchen. She began to pad as quickly as she could down the hallway but without making a sound. She'd only made it five steps down the hallway when she was grabbed from behind, a massive hand came up and covered her mouth.

Instincts kicking in, Rangiku slammed her heel down on the persons toe and rammed her elbow back into their side. She heard a sharp intake of breath and the person loosened their grip on her. She spun around ready to throw a punch in her attackers face, but she stopped when she realised it was Shunsui.

"Easy Ran-chan," He whispered quietly as he massaged his ribs, Rangiku had managed to elbow him in his left side ribs which were still a little sore.

"Shunsui," she hissed back ready to throttle him for sneaking up on her like that, however she shoved the urge to the back of her mind, she had more pressing matters at hand, "I think they sent someone from Central 46 to snoop around," she whispered as she glanced back down the hallway where they could see the man's shadowy figure floating across the paper walls, "Do you think they're here for Nanao?"

"It would appear so," Shunsui's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Come on," he replied a dark look forming on his face.

Rangiku started down the hallway again with Shunsui close on her heels, however a loud piercing scream originating from the bathroom which was then abruptly cut off, had them both sprinting down the hallway and abandoning all sense of stealth.

Rangiku made it first to the bedroom and she charged through the door and over to where the man was hovering outside the bathroom door. The tray she was wielding in her hands was heavy and ceramic and the sound it made as she cracked it over the intruders head was heavenly, unfortunately though, it wasn't enough to down the man. Luckily though Shunsui had launched himself at the man, tackling him to the ground and now the two were wrestling around on the floor, each trying to get the upper hand.

Shunsui managed to roll the guy onto his back and he then gripped the front of the man's robe and hoisted him up off the floor and slammed him heavily against the wall. The guys black hair had fallen into his face acting as a curtain, obscuring their view.

"Who are! And WHAT do you want!" Shunsui asked angrily.

"SHUNSUI! RANGIKU! What the hell are you doing?" Nanao's angry voice came from the bathroom.

They both turned their heads to see Nanao standing in the doorway her hand glowing with kido ready to blast either one of them to bits, wearing only a hastily wrapped towel that barely concealed her body and a look of pure anger adorning her face. Her anger was directed solely at them rather then the intruder.

"Let him go!" She demanded angrily.

Shunsui and Rangiku shared one confused look before Shunsui roughly pulled the man away from the wall and shoved him in a way so that both Rangiku and Nanao were now safely behind him and the intruder was in front.

Rangiku stepped forward so she was by Shunsui's side, just as the intruder had dragged himself back to his feet and had flung his hair out of his eyes in irritation. Both Rangiku's and Shunsui's eyes went wide in astonishment as they stared back at the man standing before them.

"What the hell!" They both exclaimed in unison.

They had no time to ponder the current situation. They both felt Nanao's pressure flicker behind them, as they both spun around to check on her, it suddenly spiked and faltered. The ball of kido Nanao held in her hand destabilized and they both threw their hands up to shield their eyes just as the spell collapsed and exploded out.

The force of the blast slammed into them causing them to stagger back a few steps. Once the smoke had cleared they glanced at the door to see that Nano had been blasted clean off her feet and was now lying in an unconscious heap on the bathroom floor.

"Nanao!"

"NANAO-CHAN!"

So would you like me to work on the Christmas special or are you dying for the next chapter? Lol I'm so evil but I'll take into consideration your wishes. It is coming up to christmas after all. *Happy Hugs*