Stubborn

"Come here, Rei-chan."

"Don't be like that, Rei!"

"Come here, you stupid bitch."

The black haired woman ran through Rukongai, hiding in every niche and behind every trash bin she could come across. She was already panting and sweat soaked, but didn't stop. She just couldn't.

"Damn it, don't these guys ever give up?" she hissed, bringing out her fist and taking a blind hit at someone's head. The dull pain, followed by a muffled curse assured her she had slowed them down the least, before attempting to resume her dead run. But then a hand shot up, grabbed her ankle and knocked her out on the ground, blasting the air ot of her lungs, and before she knew it, the three men were surrounding her, cracking their fists with animalistic grins on their faces.

"Well, look at what we found." The reek of sake almost brought tears to her eyes, if Rei was a woman to cry.

"Didn't your mommies tell you not to pick things up from the ground?" she laughed cynically, but somebody (she couldn't tell which one) had stepped on her back, pinning her down to the ground like deadweight.

"We don't mind getting our hands dirty, don't we, guys?" one of them chuckled "You'll have fun too, Rei-chan, just let us do the work."

"Do it with each other, you friggin' fairy!" she spat, earning a kick in the stomach.

Drunken jokes rained on her head, mixed with other noises she'd rather not have heard, but Rei wasn't somebody to freak out easily. They'd have to move, she thought. Even for a second, one of them had to move his foot from her back, even if it was for the sake of being out of the way when the other…and when he did, she'd be ready. She'd kick and hit and scream and scratch. Go for the groins, she though, or for the eyes. Fingers straight in the sockets, that'd send them right down their stupid throats.

But the foot on her back didn't move and she was getting a very bad feeling about this. Then, there was a whooshing noise and the weight disappeared. Rei blinked, too startled to move, then got up and saw all three of her chasers lying on the ground, getting beat up by something that looked like a rabid wolf that walked on his rear legs.

Ok, it'd look like a wolf if wolves are bald and carried unsheathed swords around. Rei pushed herself up on the wall and stared at Ikkaku.

"I think you made your point clear." She said coldly

"Shut up, I'm not done with them!" red-faced, Ikkaku continued to hit the three drunkards, sometimes using the dull side of his blade, sometimes just crushing them with his reiatsu, but he went on until he was out of breath. THEN he turned to her. "Are you alright?"

"Now you ask me." Rei rolled her eyes "I'm fine. And just for the record, I'd have taken on those guys without your help."

"Sure, and the moon is made of cheese. Hey!" Ikkaku ran after her, as she tried to disappear in the alleyways "I came here to look for you, you stupid onna! You could show some gratitude for saving your ass!"

"I don't need ya to save me. I'd have taken those guys on!"

"Yeah? Then maybe next time I'll just sit back and watch, won't I?"

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"Did I say I would?"

"You damn…well, will you leave me alone?"

"No." he grabbed her arm and started dragging her through the streets.

"WAIT! LET ME GO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Taking you to the academy. Where you wouldn't be causing so much trouble."

"Damn you!" She tried to yank her arm off "I told you, I don't want to be some high-ass shinigami!"

"Nobody's asking you! You'll be better off there instead of on the streets."

"No!" she dug her heels in and made him stop to look at her. The other alternative was to pull her shoulder out of its socket, and that was not a good idea. "Let me go! I have work here. I have a life!"

"Yeah? Fighting and hiding from rapists, is that your life? In the academy…"

"Stop going on about the academy! My mother is here! I can't leave her alone!"

"What?"

Rei wrinkled her nose and said:

"My mom and I died in an accident a few years back. But since I was always making her sick and hungry, I decided to live on my own. She's too old to work, she needs the money I send her. And…if she doesn't see me every once in a while, she'll be very lonely."

Ikkaku sighed. He grew up without a family, or many friends, aside from Yumichika, but for some reason, he understood. The loneliness…the feeling that you're drifting useless and pathetic, wasting your life…Before, he had cured that with fighting. And now, he cured it by living.

"Listen you…" he began "Your ma wouldn't be happy if something happens to you. In the academy, you won't cause more trouble and you'll learn how to seal your reiatsu, so that you don't make people around you hungry or sick. The money you'd get is a lot better than anything you could steal from the street, and seated officers are allowed a house-you can do more for her that way." As Rei watched him, clearly hesitant, he added "Besides, I won't go around to save ya every time ya get into trouble, so come on."

With this, he picked her up on his shoulder and carried her forward, ready to tune out any more protests she might press on him. Surprisingly, she decided to remain silent and grab onto his shoulders so that she wouldn't wall. Unbeknownst to the other, they both let out a small smile.

Nanao rubbed her forehead as she was trying to focus on the paperwork, but her treacherous eyes were always waiting for her to be off guard to skim onto the huge picture hanging on the opposite wall of the office, where it could catch the sun and the eyes of everyone who entered.

She had give credit when it's due, it could've been worse. She had argued with her taicho for a good hour before she managed to convince him that they should put a picture in their office that wouldn't give Yamamoto Sou-taicho a heart attack if he saw it. It was of the two of them, Shunsui, clad into a pink Hawaiian shirt, holding her from behind and grinning at the camera. The wind was playing with her disheveled hair and the embroidered skirts of her simple white dress, showing off her slender legs and white skin. Behind them, the sea was roaring and the seagulls were circling the sky, aiming to poop on somebody's head before running away, laughing.

Nanao couldn't argue, the picture was a nice one. Both of them were happy (ok, she looked a little startled, but he caught her off hand), and it reminded her of happiness and lightness, a perfect relaxation from the tedious paperwork and boring bureaucratic duties. But still, it would take some time before she got used to it. Everybody had taken her relationship with her captain as granted, as something existing despite her contradicting the rumors in every possible way, but there was a difference between rumors and a proof posted on the wall of the office.

Then again, she had to be thankful he listened to her and didn't poster the one where he was jumping with her in the sea, where he was wearing a pair of clown-like trousers and she wore nothing but a two-piece swim suit. "I'll save it for my quarters." He had said with a wink. Nanao didn't know whether she should be terrified or excited.

Then, just as unexpected as everything else happening in the eight division, her captain burst into the room, sending papers flying around like a bunch of doves on Trafalgar square and sweeping her up into his arms, cradling her like a bride.

"Ta…taicho!" Nanao exclaimed, grabbing onto him so that she wouldn't fall. "What on earth ARE you doing?"

"Holding my sweet Nanao-chan, of course." Shunsui cooed and almost got hit by her fan again. "Yare! That was unnecessary, Nanao-chan, I just wanted to tell you the good news."

"What good news?" she asked suspiciously "Did you manage to beat your sake drinking record AGAIN?"

"No, no, no, Nanao-chan. But I was talking to Yama-jii today. And Juu-kun as well. We wanted to help him make some…alterations to the rules."

"Alterations?" If Yamamoto's favorite students came to talk him into something, the chances of success were greater than if Aizen had a loaded gun pressed to the Sou-taicho's head. But what.

"You see, Nanao-chan, we figured it out…or, should I say, Nemu-san explained things to Jushiro and he explained them to me. We figured out why the reason behind the whole course thing."

Nanao blinked. Nemu? Tell captain Ukitake? Why? He was a sweet man, but surely she'd have no reason to tell him unless…

Oh! Her eyes widened with the realization. Nemu and Ukitake-taicho…but it was impossible. It was absurd! But…then again…there was lots of love in the air recently.

And then she realized he was bowing at her.

"Sir?"

"I apologize, Nanao-chan." He said, taking her hand in both of his "I apologize for being inconsiderate, ungentlemanly and flamboyant, demanding love from you when I didn't give you a reason to respect me. And I'm sorry for contributing to the misery of so many guys at the courses." He delicately missed the fan and continued "I hereby swear on my prized hat that I'll be on my best behavior. I'll comb my hair. I'll come to work clean shaven. I'll drink less sake than I'd ever had. And I swear I'll make you the happiest woman in the world, my Nanao-chan."

She smiled as she trailed her fingers down his jaw and leaned forward to kiss him lightly.

"Somehow, I doubt that if you had acted otherwise we would've gotten here." She said softly "And even though it sounds crazy, I don't want you to change. I like…I love the way you are."

"Ah, my Nanao-chan finally confessed!" he crooned before they kissed for a good five minutes.

"Shunsui…" she asked "What did you talk to Yamamoto sou-taicho about?"

"Ah, that." Shunsui smiled "Well, since there's so much love in the air recently, we thought he should leave some room for us enamored couples to get together every day without causing an uproar on captain's meetings."

"What?" her eyes shot open briskly. They had talked about that? And there were no scars from burning on him. She eyed his haori, trying to find traces of smudge, before looking at him again "And what did he say?"

"He refused, of course." Shunsui laughed "But he did allow us to skip on our duties on Friday night, so that we can spend more…quality time together."

"Friday night? But that's….now…" Nanao blinked as she was swept up and cradled in Shunsui's arms yet again. "Wait! What's going on?!"

"It's like you said, Nanao-chan. It's Friday night and I'm here to deliver you from this tedious paperwork." He tried to clear her desk while kissing her again, but she stopped him

"We can't…what if somebody comes in? What if somebody from the squad hears…"

"They already left on their weekly drinking break." He mumbled against her lips and winced when she jumped on the ground

"Drinking break? Since when does that happen?" she asked, eyes narrowing dangerously

"Why, ever since you were old enough for me not to worry that some drunken seat might poison your mind with dirty talk, Nanao-chan."

"Poison?" she rolled her eyes, but then smiled impishly, pulling him down again and dragging him towards the living accommodations of the division. Shunsui grinned as he swept her in his arms once again and carried her all the way up the stairs-the night was definitely turning out for the best.

A/N-And anither one is complete. Since the next chapter will be the last, I hope you guys will tell me which couples would you like to see in it (of those I developped here, sorry there wasn't much Kiyone/Sentaro). Thanks in advance.