"Ise-san," a voice called out behind her. She paused on her trek home and spotted Baykuya walking in her general direction.
"Kuchiki Taicho," she greeted with a curt bow. Even though she'd slept while in the hospital it hadn't been a very restful sleep and she was feeling cranky. She also couldn't deny that it'd ticked her off all over again to see Shunsui's mother and that woman show up at the hospital. She knew they were just trying to be supportive, but she couldn't help feeling like it was his mother trying to manipulate Kiyoko's way into Shunsui's heart, as Hana had never deemed it necessary to visit a sick Jyuushiro before. She knew she had no right to really be upset about it, but somehow she was even angrier about the woman trying to worm herself into the trio's friendship than into Shunsui's bed. Nanao could only assume this was because Kiyoko sleeping with Shunsui had been jarring and painful enough to confuse and dilute the angrier emotions inside her at the time, but Kiyoko trying to get close to Jyuushiro wasn't so much heart wrenching as it just pissed her off royally. If Jyuushiro wanted food other than the mess hall's than by kami it was going to be Nanao that made it, not some idiotic noble girl. What did Kiyoko even know about what either men wanted or needed in this situation anyway? Kiyoko had slept with Shunsui, that didn't mean she knew anything about him. A lot of women had slept with Shunsui.
"How is Ukitake Taicho?" the regal man in front of her asked, obviously aware that if the man was ill she'd been to the hospital.
"He's going to be ok," Nanao said rubbing the bridge of her nose and once again becoming conscious of the fact that she needed to get her glasses fixed. "It was a bad one, but Unohana Taicho thinks he'll come through just fine."
Kuchiki nodded and matched her stride as she continued to walk. Remembering her earlier promise to Shunsui she breached unknown territory. "I know it may be none of my business, but Ukitake-san really could benefit from a fukutaicho as capable as your sister."
Kuchiki raised one elegant eyebrow at her and she felt the chilly look penetrate. "And you would know this from your in depth interaction with my sister?"
"Obviously I have not been in the field with her, but I've heard more than enough about her skills to know she'd be up to the challenge," Nanao said. She saw the disapproval on his face and added, "Besides it would make it much more difficult for her to go about visiting the living world with the added burden of the work load." Everyone was well aware Kuchiki was not fond of his little sister's growing relationship with the ryoka Ichigo. He wasn't doing anything to stop it, but he sure wasn't fond of it.
"Did Ukitake Taicho put you up to this?" he asked coolly.
"No, Kyouraku-san asked," she said honestly. She'd found over the past few days that bluntness was an excellent way to go with the frosty man. He was much like herself in that respect. It was good just to get to the point.
"And you are still doing his bitch work?" Byakuya asked. Seeing her surprised expression he added, "My fukutaicho's turn of phrase of course, but applicable in the situation."
Nanao snorted and gave him a small smile. "No, I just happen to agree with him. We both want Jyuushiro-san safe and a fukutaicho would help. He has his hopes set on Rukia-san and she is more than up to the challenge. Not only that, but it would bring more honor to the Kuchiki name. That being said, I do intend to respect your wishes and let the matter drop."
"So Ukitake-san's illness has reunited the lovers in their moment of tragedy," Kuchiki filled in dryly.
"Oh yes, only to have cruel reality pop up in the form of his pregnant mistress," Nanao replied sarcastically.
They walked on silently for a bit and then Kuchiki cleared his throat awkwardly, which was the first awkward thing Nanao had ever witnessed him do to be honest. "I do not usually meddle, but as you have offered your opinion on a personal matter and Rukia has been pestering me, I would like to offer out a suggestion she made."
"Go ahead," Nanao said, half curious and half dreading the proposition.
"We have a cousin that Rukia thought might be a good romantic match for you," he said without a hint of expression in his tone.
"Are you trying to set me up on a blind date?" Nanao asked shocked.
"It was merely a suggestion," he answered with an elegant shrug. "To do with as you will. Although I believe he may be a bit more suited to your particular needs then say a Kenpachi."
"Why does everyone think I'm sleeping with Kenpachi?" Nanao asked rolling her eyes. "Can't a girl come out of the baths right after a member of the opposite sex and not have slept with him?"
"Of course," Kuchiki conceded. "I never implied anything different. Just merely stated that Kenpachi is not a hypothetically good alternative to Kyouraku."
"Well apparently as I am dating Kenpachi, Hisagi, and you, I have a plethora of options," she said with a harsh laugh.
"We're seeing one another?" he asked with his own barely there smile. "Interesting. People will believe anything. Well, I do have to be going."
"Of course," Nanao said stopping with him at the intersection. She could feel the passing shinigami eyes boring into them and she sighed in annoyance. She kind of missed being invisible.
"Very interesting," Kuchiki said calmly. Then he reached up and brushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear. She looked at him in surprise and he smirked. It was one of the more evil things she'd witnessed in a while. It was also kind of sexy. "Let Kyouraku twist a little longer."
Then he was walking the other direction and it took Nanao a moment to get her feet moving properly. She heard whispering all around her and she tried to fight down the blush she thought she had under control. She was under no delusions that Kuchiki was actually interested in her. He must have just suddenly taken a fancy to screwing with Shunsui.
"So I'm kind of hoping that you missed dinner because of Ukitake Taicho and not Kuchiki Taicho," a voice said lightly to her left.
"Hisagi-san," she greeted surprised. Apparently she'd picked a very busy way to walk home. "I'm so sorry about last night. I heard Ukitake-san had just gotten sick and I didn't even think."
"It's fine," he said with a charming boyish grin. "I figured as much. Well, I have to admit there was a bit there where I'd thought I'd been brutally stood up, but then I heard the rumor and figured you'd gone to the 4th. How is he?"
"He's going to be alright," she said with a relieved smile. "I really am sorry. I should have sent a message or something."
"Totally fine," Hisagi said cutting off her more thorough explanation. "Once I figured it out I went out with some mates anyway so no harm done. You do owe me a rain check though."
"Of course," she answered smiling back. "Sometime this week?"
"Sure," he said easily. "You look beat. Headed home?"
"Yeah, I was," she said indecisively. She almost felt obligated to grab lunch or something with him now to make up for the blunder.
"Alright, I've got some errands to run," he said easily. "Get some sleep, and I'll see you Monday?"
"Sure," she said relaxing. "See you then."
She was relieved to get home, eat lunch, and pass out with Boo curled up next to her. It was an unpleasant shock to be woken up sometime later to someone banging on her front door. Stumbling out of her bed she slipped her zanpakutou sheath up around her thigh and under her shorts before leaving her room. Her tank top didn't provide any cover and she'd rather have whoever was there believing she was unarmed. Nanao didn't get too many visitors and the ones she did get usually had their own key as she seemed to be unable to stop people from making copies. She tugged the door open hoping it wasn't urgent news from the 4th or anyone who wanted to kill her.
"What?" she asked annoyed as she realized it was Ikkaku at her door.
"We need you right now," he said reaching for her.
She jerked her arm away and glared. "For what?" she demanded. "If this is about yesterday we're going to have to do it some other time."
"Nope, Taicho wants you," he said.
She glanced at the clock on her wall. "What does he want from me at this hour?"
"Hell if I know," Ikkaku said with a shrug. "Taicho tells me to get you I come to get you. He said he needed you now."
Nanao sighed and shook her head. "Let me change."
"No time, princess," he said sneaking in behind her and starting to shove her out the door.
"Ikkaku," she growled dangerously, barely managing to snag her keys off the table next to the door as they left. "I am at least going to lock my door. Stop pushing."
He let up enough to allow her to secure her apartment and then started shunpoing away expecting her to follow. She sighed and glanced longingly at her apartment before she did just that.
They landed at the 11th to a riot of noise. It seemed like every light in the division was on and as they headed towards the front groups of drunken people brushed pass them. Nanao felt a headache coming on. They entered the front gate only to have to duck a moment later as a liquor bottle smashed on the wall behind them.
"This doesn't look like an emergency to me," Nanao said darkly.
"When did I ever say it was an emergency?" Ikkaku asked. "I just said Taicho wanted you."
They rounded another corner and entered the 11th's open courtyard which currently supported a big bonfire and at least thirty or so drunken men and women. Kenpachi sat sprawled out on a wooden bench up against a wall with Yachiru chatting amicably at his side. The little girl seemed to notice instantly as they entered the courtyard and came bounding over to Nanao grabbing her hand and dragging her back to where Kenpachi sat, liquor bottle in hand.
"Good job, baldie," Yachiru called happily to Ikkaku who muttered something about unholy menaces and wandered over to where Yumichika was sitting with another group of men.
"You needed me?" Nanao asked sarcastically, already more than fed up with this particular adventure.
"Kid wanted you," he said nodding at Yachiru lazily.
"There are bugs!" she exclaimed.
"It's nighttime," Nanao said. "There generally are. What's your point?"
"You can kill them with the kido zapping thingy," Yachiru announced like Nanao was an idiot for not catching on.
"No kido in the 11th," Nanao reminded the girl, more than ready to head home.
"Ken-chan will let you," Yachiru whined. "Won't you Ken-chan?"
"Do whatever you want," he said with a shrug. "You ain't 11th anyway."
"Please, please, please," Yachiru said anxiously.
"Yachiru-san," Nanao started with a tired sigh. "Tracking each individual bug down would take all night."
"So what? It's cool. You got something better to do?" Yachiru demanded.
"Leave her alone," Kenpachi said with a chuckle taking a swig of his drink. "I told you kido is useless."
"No fun," Yachiru whined scrambling up to Kenpachi's shoulders.
"Why do ya think she's training so hard?" Kenpachi asked with a smirk. "She finally figured out what a waste of time kido is. You can burn a few eyebrows off, but you should leave killing to the real soldiers." He shook his head and they both seemed to dismiss her very presence as their attention was caught by a group of 11th division members who had started throwing glass shards at each other on the other side of the courtyard. Kami, and she thought the 8th was bad.
Nanao knew she shouldn't do it. Knew it was a terrible temptation to give into, but what were the chances of them really figuring out what had happened? Kenpachi sucked at tracking and sensing spiritual energy, Yachiru was probably too young and uninterested to understand, and everyone else wasn't paying attention. If anything she could use the same excuse she always did that it simply magnified her kido. She was simply tired of taking shit from everyone about her kido.
Nanao slipped her hand up to her thigh and discreetly took out her zanpakutou as Yachiru tried to get a taste of Kenpachi's drink and he held it good-naturedly out of her reach. They didn't want any bugs? She'd show them no bugs.
Kage, distort, she thought letting the presence in her mind grow. Zanpakutous generally didn't need a spoken command to release. They were so in tune with their wielders that it was unnecessary if the desire was there. Nanao had often theorized that shouting the command just substituted nicely for a battle cry and worked for intimidation and the natural need to have an action, not just a thought, create a reaction.
She felt the power well inside her and took a moment to bask in it as she so rarely got to take it out to play, well at least not when she wasn't in fear of imminent death. Then she reached out with her mind to the surrounding area, and was instantly able to locate every object animate or inanimate to a perfect degree. Kage's shikai gave her a bond with space itself. She could feel it within a certain radius as if it were a part of herself and manipulate it as she pleased. Focusing on all the tiny bug life forms in the area she flicked a small simple shot of red fire off the tip of her sword and felt it as, at her will the kido broke into individual tiny pieces, disappeared from the space it'd been produced in, and reappeared inside of every single little bug body instantaneously. Almost a hundred tiny bright lights sparkled into existence at once and then just as quickly faded. She slid Kage away before turning her attention back to Kenpachi and Yachiru, both of whom were looking out in surprise at the little fairy lights that had seemed to appear and disappear like they had never occurred.
"I believe that takes care of your bug problem," she said dryly as she felt the first conversations restart as people around the courtyard tried to figure out what had just happened.
"So cool!" Yachiru shrieked before racing off to investigate the little bug ashes.
"Never seen anyone do a kido like that before," Kenpachi said and Nanao met his eyes, surprised by the intense scrutiny there. Perhaps she had underestimated his ability to sense releases.
"Well it isn't like you've hung out with a lot of kido masters before," she said with a shrug, suddenly cursing her own impetuous stupidity. In her defense she'd been working herself to exhaustion lately, and worrying about Ukitake, and the late night call had just been the last straw.
"You could technically do that to people's heads though right?" Kenpachi asked looking at her with more interest than he ever had in the past. "Blow them right off their necks before they ever even realized what happened?"
"Such a large attack would take a lot more firepower," she said with a shrug, trying to subtly imply it was firepower she didn't have.
"What if it was just one person," he asked shifting forward and standing up. "Could you do it to me? Explode my head before I even laid a finger on you?" he asked getting right in her face.
"I doubt it," she said holding her ground. "Spirits are more complex than bugs, especially shinigami. It'd take a lot to simply force the kido through your natural reiatsu barrier." Which was true except for the fact that her shikai could pretty much negate that barrier by simply suddenly being inside it.
"I don't think you doubt it at all," he growled stepping even closer until all her physical space was taken over by his presence. "I think you know you could blow my head off my shoulders right now."
With enough concentration, oh yes, Kage hissed in her mind. "I couldn't," she lied. It'd be more difficult, but she was just as sure as Kage that she could. And then the Gotei 13 would quickly identify her zanpakutous ability, realize it had the same traits as the highly illegal spatial displacement spell, grasp how dangerous it was, and she'd be thrown in the Maggot's Nest before you could say bug zapper. She'd be too much of a threat to be left alone.
"Interesting," Kenpachi said with a shark grin. "I don't believe you."
"Don't you think if it was that easy I'd have taken some revenge on Kyouraku?" she asked trying to throw him off the trail.
He laughed and moved out of her space. "Have a drink, Ise. Least I can do for the bug slayer."
"I'm really alright," Nanao argued. "I think I'll just head home."
"Sit down," he said, "unless you want me to find out if you really can take me or not."
Nanao grudgingly took the unoccupied edge of the bench and accepted the liquor bottle handed to her. She raised an eyebrow at it and Kenpachi laughed. "No need for glasses. Bottles up." Nanao took a quick swig and tried hard to suppress her disgusted face as it burned down her throat.
"It'll put hair on your chest," he commented seeing her wince.
"Great, just what I've always wanted," she growled, distinctly uncomfortable. After a few more minutes of sitting there in a silence Kenpachi didn't see any need to break she finally sighed and said, "Did you want something else?"
"Yachiru likes you," he said with a shrug. "Figured I'd keep you around until we're sure she's done with you."
"Spoil her like that," Nanao chastised jokingly, "and she'll grow up to be a brat."
"Hasn't seemed to do you much harm," he said with another shrug.
"What?" she asked, wondering again why she was still sitting here when all she wanted to do was go home to bed.
"Kyouraku spoiled you rotten as a kid, and you turned out fine," he clarified. "A little weak, but I won't make that mistake with her. Then again I don't plan on wanting to screw her when she's old enough either."
"He didn't plan on it," Nanao defended. Her Taicho might be a pervert, but he wasn't a pedophile. It'd just happened naturally. Hundreds of years tend to make the age differences blurry at best, and she'd never felt any inappropriate interest when she was younger. Hell, she'd become aware of his sex appeal long before he'd ever seen her as anything but a kid.
"How do you know he didn't just plan to train you up to be exactly what he wanted in a woman?" Kenpachi asked hitting a sore spot he was probably totally unaware of.
Nanao felt her hackles rise at that. She had not escaped Tanaka just to end up in the same situation Tanaka had planned to sell her into. Kyouraku might have been overprotective and a tad manipulative, but he had never ever forced her to be anyone but who she wanted to be. "He didn't," she said coldly, hoping the tone expressed the need for him to drop this line of thought right now.
"No wonder he cheated, probably thought he'd trained you well enough to stick around regardless," Kenpachi said with a chuckle, staring out over the party.
Nanao didn't really think about what she did next, just picked up an empty liquor bottle next to her and smashed it over the back of his head before she could stop herself. Kenpachi came to his feet with a roar, and the entire party stopped to stare.
"What the hell bitch?" he demanded.
"You don't know the first damn thing about us," she growled letting her own power flare up around her. If he wanted a fight, he'd get one. She didn't give two shits whether he pounded her into the ground for it or not.
"You think you're going to fight me?" he snarled.
"Apologize," she said icily. Kami, how many times had she wanted to do this in the past? Just let loose and force the nasty gossipers to get down on their knees and beg for forgiveness. How many times had she held back? Not that deciding to finally do it with Kenpachi was probably the wisest decision. She was just tired of hearing no. Tired of always being the calm rational one. Tired of taking the heat for shit she couldn't control.
"Go to hell," he said smirking back.
Kage urged her forward at the back of her mind. Rip him apart and show them all what she was, what she'd always been, what she'd been trying so hard to shove down somewhere deep to make her friends and family proud. To be a good person. One flick of the wrist, one simple spell, Kage whispered, and it's over.
She ignored the voice and lifted her hands throwing a Hado 33 at him, letting the blue energy erupt from her hands and explode in his face. She really hadn't meant for it to do much damage, and she smiled nastily as the energy cleared showing his singed eyebrows.
His sword was pulled and he was charging at her almost faster than she thought possible, but she lifted her hand summoning a shield of condensed reiatsu, which his blade ricocheted off of leaving an opening for her to slam a ball of yellow energy in an uppercut straight into his gut.
Kenpachi gave an oof, but surprised her with a barehanded backhand that slammed into the side of her head like a sledgehammer and sent her rolling. She barely regained enough sense to stop the roll before she went skidding into the bonfire. He was already charging her again with a look of maniacal glee and she cast a small kido box spell at his feet tripping him and sending him sprawling towards her. Nanao rolled out of the way and was grudgingly impressed when he was able to stop himself before he went headfirst into the fire.
Getting back to her feet and trying to keep her thoughts ordered and clear in her now fuzzy head she sent a particularly strong binding spell at him forcing him to the ground and pinning him to the dirt with pillars. Panting she took the moment to step back and regain her footing having no delusions that the spell was going to hold him for long. Her head was swimming from his blow and she knew she wasn't going to win this fight. It'd been stupid to start it in the first place.
Fight, Kage whispered. We can kill him.
I don't want to kill him, she thought back fiercely, I was just angry.
Too late now, Kage replied, fight or die.
Kenpachi threw off the restraints with a howl and came to his feet already charging. She started on a hyoga seiran and then quickly realized that while Kenpachi would probably survive the massive tidal wave of ice that it would produce the men and women downed by their loosened reiatsu definitely wouldn't. She squashed the spell and dodged his sword swing at the last minute feeling little shards of glass enter her hand as she used it to handspring away from him.
"Don't start running now," Kenpachi said gleefully. "This was just starting to get fun."
She altered the direction of her next kido blast to nail the tip of his sword and rip it backwards, nearly out of his grasp. He grinned and realigned himself bringing the sword down hard to rip through her shoulder, but she managed to get a shield up in time and move fast enough to dodge the blow. She shunpoed in closer to him, using his long arm length to her advantage as it was harder for him to strike at her the closer to his body she got. Nanao managed to twist off to his side and roll further away from him once more.
She said the Senju Koten Taiho incantation aloud to give it extra power and sent all the spears of light produced to a focal point at the center of his chest. The blast threw him backwards and into a wall knocking bricks loose and shingles off the roof. A trickle of blood ran down from Kenpachi's head and he started laughing as he flicked it out of his eye. Nanao was panting and her head was reeling and knew she wouldn't last much longer at this rate. For Kami sake, he hadn't even removed his eye patch. Picking a fight with Kenpachi was intensely stupid.
Now, Nanao, we fight now, Kage demanded again.
I don't want to kill him, she argued once more.
We could merely maim, Kage supplied. One slice at the open air in front of you could rip right through his gut with the proper distortion. We wouldn't even have to be strong enough to slice his skin, just his insides. Everybody's soft and squishy on the inside.
They'd figure it out, she shrieked internally shaking her head.
Then die weak, Kage answered emotionlessly.
Kenpachi charged again and she readied herself for a shielding spell using herself as the fulcrum that she planned to rotate it like a seesaw flipping him over backwards when his foot touched the front of the slanted shield.
Suddenly Kenpachi was thrown back by a blast of kido she certainly didn't throw, and a dozen restraining pillars piled on top of him. It wasn't going to hold, but at least it'd slow him down.
"What is going on?" Kuchiki asked frostily.
Nanao let her own shield drop and gave him a small inclination of her head while she tried to catch her breath to speak again.
"Ain't your damn fight, Kuchiki," Kenpachi growled as he pulled himself out from under the restrictive pillars. "Get lost."
"Your fight has flattened half of the surrounding area and messed up the communication between the 6th's division's patrols," Kuchiki said flatly.
"I'll take you both," Kenpachi said grinning.
"I have no interest in brawling like animals," Kuchiki stated firmly. "Control yourself."
"Bitch started it," Kenpachi said with a fierce smile.
"Somehow I doubt that," Kuchiki replied.
"You think I'd hit a defenseless girl for no reason?" Kenpachi demanded.
"She doesn't appear to have been entirely defenseless," Kuchiki said wryly as he surveyed the damage they'd done.
"Better than I thought," Kenpachi said looking pleased as his attention focused back on Nanao.
"You owe me an apology," Nanao said faking a calm confidence she certainly didn't feel.
Kenpachi just started laughing. When he finally got himself under control again he said to Kuchiki, "I like her. Tiny but vicious."
"Apologize," she said again.
"Sorry, bitch," he said easily. "I was wrong, cuz if I'd been right and he'd made you what he wanted you wouldn't have even lived this long."
"Good enough," she said shrugging glad she didn't have to go at it again.
"Take care of your division," Kuchiki said disgustedly as Kenpachi started locking down his reiatsu. "I'll take the girl to the 4th."
"I hope by girl you aren't referring to me," Nanao said as he shunpoed next to her and the men and women in the courtyard started picking themselves up off the ground where they'd been smothered. It was lucky they hadn't killed anyone. Yachiru bounced up to Kenpachi's side and started squealing eagerly over the fight as he roughly started pulling men to their feet.
"The whole left side of your face is damaged," Kuchiki said looking her over clinically. "Not to mention the blood dripping from your hand."
"I'm fine," she said stubbornly.
"This is an order Ise," Kuchiki said firmly. "Go to the 4th or I will drag you there."
"Fine," she said resentfully. "But I'm fine." She started to turn away wincing as her vision swam and almost missed his next statement.
"Your shunpo was impressive for someone of your level. His blow should have hit."
Nanao turned back to him, but he'd already left. She smiled inwardly at the veiled compliment, and started trudging for the exit. A few people were still shaking their heads trying to clear the cobwebs, and she passed Ikkaku pulling another man up.
"Not bad for a kido wielding girl," he called with a grin.
"Yeah, come play again soon," Yachiru added popping up suddenly beside her. "Ken-chan had lots of fun."
"Wonderful," Nanao said sarcastically as she continued on her way. She picked up her shunpo and didn't even contemplate heading home before the 4th. Frankly she was bearing up well enough against her training injuries, and the Yakuza could suck it for all she cared if they somehow found out that she healed the ones she was currently sporting. Her head felt like a burst watermelon and she just didn't feel like dying in her sleep from an untreated concussion. Plus she had to get the shards of glass out of her hand and she just didn't have the willpower currently to tug them out herself.
You were lucky, Kage whispered.
Very, she agreed.
A/N: Oh man I'm starting to catch up to where I've written to in this story. Serious writer's block :( Oh well, it has happened before and it will happen again. Hope you liked this chapter.
Review please, and as a shameless plug, if you haven't already, please read and review my newest one-shot, Perfection, too :)