Chapter 18

Nanao

The next few days were strange.

Lisa did act like herself most of the time, except she was treating Nanao different. She had stopped patting her head, and treating her like a child, which was good.

However, Nanao was reasonably certain Lisa was flirting with her, which was strange. She wasn't sure how to react to it, and just kept doing nothing, embarrassed. Which meant she was annoyed at herself, for letting the older woman play with her again, though differently.
And it wasn't like she wasn't used to flirting, she had spend decades hitting her captain for it, but he hadn't been serious, and she hadn't wanted him to be.
Not that Nanao was sure Lisa was serious, but hitting her would still be counterproductive.

The second strange thing was that Kyouraku had suddenly stopped flirting with her, shortly after Lisa had started. She had considered that maybe that was why he stopped, or maybe that he was angry at them for annoying Ukitake, but had noticed over the next days that he just wasn't flirting, period.

That had almost worried her, but he acted normal apart from that, and he seemed cheerful, so she decided against worrying.

The other obvious option was that their meddling had worked, and he was together with Ukitake now, which would be great.
It also would mean Lisa had been right, which would be awful. But they had both been so angry at the notes, and they hadn't acted any different after, so Nanao didn't think that option was likely.

Besides, they would tell them, wouldn't they?

.

Kyouraku

They had agreed not to tell anyone for a week or two, because after their scheming, Kyouraku kind of didn't want to prove his lieutenants right straight away.

But neither of them really cared if anyone knew, so they just spend their time together, enjoying it.

Kyouraku had been surprised at first when no one seemed to notice, but then they weren't acting very different.

Except that Kyouraku wasn't flirting with anyone other than Ukitake any more, of course, and he knew everyone had noticed that.
Nanao kept watching him, guarded. Luckily, she was distracted by Lisa, who had apparently taken Kyouraku's words to heart.
Maybe a little too much, because she was openly flirting with Nanao, who didn't seem to know what to do about that. She kept staring at Lisa in surprise every time, before pushing up her glasses and demonstratively going back to work.

It was entertaining to watch, and Kyouraku had made sure to get Ukitake over a few times, so he could witness it. Without telling him in advance of course, it was much more amusing to watch Ukitake's attention focus on Lisa, assessing, as he caught on, before giving Kyouraku a look, as he realized that Kyouraku had brought him there deliberately.

Kyouraku had just nodded and grinned at him.

.

Lisa

She wasn't sure how her captains change in behavior had been caused, but she was grateful for it. She kept flirting at Nanao, and since the younger woman hadn't hit her, she decided that was going well, even if Nanao didn't answer. That aside, she spend more time with Nanao, talking, often about books, and also got to know Rangiku better, who grinned every time she noticed Lisa flirting with Nanao.
She wasn't the only one, Kyouraku and Ukitake kept grinning as well, and she was nearly certain they sometimes came to the office just to watch. Not that she would mind, or let it stop her.

Lisa enjoyed getting to know Nanao again, and was glad that she got along with the other visored.

But a part of her mind kept wondering if it was really a good idea for her little girl to be close to a half hollow. Lisa had gotten used to that part of herself, but for most Shinigami hollow equaled cleansing with Zanpakutos.

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Nanao

She reached her tipping point a few days later, while she was having her lunch break in the office with Lisa, Kyouraku and Ukitake.

Lisa said something about enjoying the large baths in Seireitei, and planning to take one later, followed by a 'Want to join me Nanao?'

She looked into her mentors smiling face for a moment, and made the decision in those seconds.

'Sure, let's go now.' she said, getting up, and dragging Lisa behind her when she didn't react in time. Pausing at the door, she bowed to the captains, adding a 'Please excuse us.' for politeness. Though they both looked so amused that she probably hadn't needed have bothered.

She considered for a moment, and then walked towards he quarters, Lisa following her without comment.

Nanao used the time to collect her thoughts. She had spontaneously decided that she needed to talk to Lisa, and make clear how she felt, because she just wasn't going to let herself be pushed around anymore. And it was a good decision, thinking about it.
Because if Lisa was just joking around she needed to stop, and if she wasn't, talking would be good. And she knew Lisa well enough to be sure the other wouldn't make fun of her for it.

So Nanao found she was rather calm when they arrived at her rooms, and she turned to Lisa, determined.

.

Lisa

Well, she was nearly certain Nanao was not going to take her to a bath. So this probably was going to be a serious conversation, which she should easily be able to deal with. And yet, Lisa felt unusually nervous. It would hurt if Nanao told her she wasn't interested, and to stop it, but what if she was interested, and changed her mind later?

She suppressed the impulse to ask Nanao where the bath was when they arrived at her quarters, instead taking the time to admire her posture and determined, calm gaze.

She watched as Nanao pushed up her glasses, showing a tiny hesitation before she spoke.

'I have come to the conclusion that… okay, so, I am in love with you. Will you be my girlfriend?'

The obvious answer was yes. The other obvious answer was you have no idea what you are getting into. And Lisa somehow couldn't decide between the two, as she opened her mouth and didn't say anything.
Nanao was watching her, and under her intense gaze Lisa pulled herself together.

'Yes, I want to, but I'm worried.' she answered, deciding fore pure honesty.
Nanao smiled slightly at her, before nodding. 'Okay, about what?'

Lisa searched for the words. 'You know I'm a visored, and I know I'm not evil or anything, but I have a hollow as part of me. I would love to be together with you, but I need you to know what you are getting into before we decide anything permanent.'

'I know you are a visored.' Nanao answered, calm. 'That's nothing new. I know you are part hollow, and I know you aren't evil.'

'But you haven't seen it. Shinigami are trained to attack hollows, it's so ingrained in us…' 'And yet you learned to live with yours.' Lisa didn't know how to reply to that. She wasn't used to being more unsure than Nanao.

The younger woman smiled. 'So, what do you want to do about it?'

Challenging me to think of a plan… Lisa smiled back at her, as her mind caught itself again.

'It's hard to explain, so I suppose I will have to show you.' she answered.