Nanao had her face buried in her paperwork, trying her best not to overthink the mischief that her captain was getting up to in her absence. She was absolutely, unequivocally, categorically not his caretaker. The rhythmic tapping of her finger on the desk was doing nothing but setting her nerves on edge, they were already frayed, battered and torn after everything that had happened in the Seireitei recently.
What she needed, was a distraction. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and when she opened them again, she returned her brush to the ink and attempted to finish the sentence that she'd spent the better part of ten minutes working on.
It took her a further minute to realise the attempt was futile. Her mind was being uncooperative and stubborn and she returned the ink brush to its pot and gazed around the office space. The bright beams of sunlight that filtered down from the large office windows illuminated the little dust particles in the air. Without her captain's gentle snores the space was eerily silent, Nanao considered that this was perhaps why she couldn't concentrate.
Someone rapped loudly on her office door, the sound was like a shotgun in the silence and Nanao's eyes narrowed.
'Lieutenant Ise, I bring paperwork from the thirteeth, tenth and seventh.'
Nanao granted permission for him to enter and a large stack of paperwork and scrolls were placed on the edge of her desk. She sighed, this was the downside to being one of the few who worked on the paperwork in the office, she'd have to sign off reports that came from the other squads, even if they required the captains signature.
She sorted each of the scrolls according to their seal, but one stood out, for it had the plain seal of the Gotei thirteenth.
'What the…?' Nanao frowned, pulling the seal with a generic stamp out of the mix and glancing at it. This scroll was addressed directly to her and she started. It had been so long since she'd been given a personal letter. Then concern for her captain rose like bile in her throat and she tore it open, trying to calm her heart with thoughts that it wasn't addressed from the fourth.
Her eyes scoured the words on the page and she felt her jaw go slack.
At first, she almost fell for it, genuinely, she almost did.
Nanao was an astute woman, with eyes as sharp as a blade and she could tell that this wasn't written by the person it was signed by. Resounding to find out, before she believed the lies, she pocketed the scroll and made for the door to her office. The fresh air felt pleasant against her skin as she pulled the door back and cupped her hand over her eyes in the sunlight that greeted her. She smiled, glad she had an excuse to leave the office before pulling the office door closed behind her.
'Morning lieutenant Ise,' everyone greeted her as she made her way through the streets of the eighth division. Nanao returned the greetings, using names where she remembered them. She was in no rush, considering the ninth division was next door, even so the walk took almost an hour and when she did arrive it took her a moment to get her bearings to locate the office.
She knocked on the door and heard the voice of the very lieutenant she wished to speak with.
'Come in,' his voice sounded chipper and happy and as Nanao slid the door open, she saw why. In his hand was clutched a scroll, much like the one she carried on the inside of her robes, with the same broken generic wax seal of the Gotei thirteenth.
'Just as I thought,' she said at once, without greeting, she pulled the scroll from the inside of her own uniform. Shuhei glanced between the two of them, the smile that had been present on his face slowly sliding off and a small frown replacing it.
'Oh,' he said, his shoulders visibly deflating, 'you didn't write this?'
Nanao held her hand out for the note, and he handed it to her, she traded it with the one she'd been given. Someone had attempted to write to her in the handwriting of Shuhei, inviting her for dinner at a tiny restaurant she'd never heard the name of.
'This is a sick prank,' Shuhei said turning away from her and walking down to the other side of the office. The space was laid out differently to her own, it was much larger, but with smaller windows, trapping in the scent of ink and paper and tea.
'I bet it was my captain,' Nanao sighed, 'I'm really sorry for the disturbance.'
'It's fine,' Shuhei said, but he kept his back to her and Nano could tell by his tone that he didn't sound fine. She'd not spent a lot of time personally with the lieutenant, but she had known him and worked with him long enough now to know that he was incredibly hardworking and unspeakably loyal.
Nanao didn't know what to say in that moment to make the situation any better, but she didn't wish to just leave. 'We've had a lot going on,' she said finally, 'and you especially, I'll make sure my captain understands how wrong this was to do.'
Shuhei sighed loudly, when he turned back to her he'd fixed a sad smile on his face, 'don't go too hard on him. I expect he had reason to do it.'
Nanao blinked at the man, watching the way his dark grey eyes seemed to tighten. He'd lost his captain and Nanao was sure that the mention of her own was causing his bad mood. That didn't explain why he sounded happier before she entered his office. Nanao stood in the space, staring at him, trying to analyse what was going on.
'Did, um, did you want a cup of tea?' he offered and she nodded wordlessly as he turned to set the hot water over the heat.
'What did you mean, when you said you expect that captain Kyoraku had "reason to do it?"' she asked.
'Simply that,' he shrugged, turning around and folding his bare arms across his chest. He was one of the few souls who had altered the look of their uniform, taking the arms off it so it left him in a sleeveless shihakusho. 'Maybe he thought we were both lonely,' he let a cheeky grin tug at the corner of his lips and Nanao blinked at him. Then she felt heat rising in her cheeks at what he was insinuating.
'You think my captian forged fake valentine's day notes to each of us from the other because he thought we might be lonely?' she tried to keep the incredulity from her voice as she asked the question, but failed as he chuckled at her.
'You should see your face,' he bantered and Nanao just scowled back at him, 'I'll admit I was happy when I saw the note. I never thought for a second it might have been fake, I was just…' he shrugged, 'happy.'
'Oh,'Nanao felt awful now, she felt like she'd just come and snatched the one thing from him that had likely made him smile since his captain had abandoned him and his squad. 'I'm sorry.'
'You say that a lot,' Shuhei smiled, 'you're apologising for someone else. You're a kind soul Nanao, beautiful too, I'd have considered myself lucky if a woman like you even took a second glance in my direction.'
Nanao stood still, frozen to the spot. She'd never been complimented like that before. Sure she'd been cat called and complimented all the time by Kyoraku and Rangiku, but never by a potential suiter in a way that didn't feel degrading or insulting.
'You're intelligent too,' he said turning back to the tea and pouring the water, 'you worked that prank out quick. I'd have fallen for it.'
'I…' Nanao was feeling shy all of a sudden, and she never felt shy, 'I know what kind of mischief my captain gets up to when my back is turned.'
'Well it's a good thing you did,' he chuckled placing her cup down on the table. Nanao moved around the side of the couch to sit beside it, 'I'd have been stood up at that restaurant if you hadn't come today.'
'I-' she'd been about to apologise again and he knew it, his eyes sparkling with mirth as he sat down opposite her, at a respectful distance with his own cup of tea. She cleared her throat, willing the heat in her cheeks to cool down.
The two of them took an awkward sip of their own tea, before she decided to humour him.
'What would you have done on this hypothetical date?' she asked.
A soft smile played at the edges of his mouth as he considered it, 'I was just thinking, before you came in that I have an old western suit I could pull out for the occasion. Maybe it's an assumption but you strike me as the kind of woman who'd want a man to dress clean and respectable.' He nodded his head, his grey eyes glancing at the top of the room and Nanao watched the small frown lines appearing between his brows as he considered his options. 'I'd bring you flowers, of course, perhaps try and find out what ones you liked from someone close to you if I had enough time. I'd do my best to listen, make you laugh…'
He trailed off and Nanao sat there, just staring at him with her mouth open. The silence passed between them and only when he stared to look nervous did she speak.
'So,' she placed her now empty cup back down on the table, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks again, 'what time are you picking me up?'
