Chapter 20

Nanao

They flash stepped to one of the Kido training rooms, which was fortified with several spells to keep the energy inside.

Only then did Lisa explain. 'I will summon my mask, for a moment, so you will know. The spells should keep my Reiatsu inside, so we won't have a horde of Shinigami trying to hunt me down.'

Nanao nodded. It seemed like a good plan, and she had been curious about that anyways. But Lisa seemed uncertain, so Nanao waited for her to talk again.

'Listen…. You don't have to feel bad if it scares you, or makes you attack. I won't be upset at you. And even if you decide you can live with this…. Don't expect to be comfortable with the hollow right away. It will take time to get used to, so don't push yourself.'
Nanao nodded, noting how unusually gentle Lisa's voice was.

Lisa hugged her briefly, which surprised Nanao, but she still returned it, then she stepped back as far as the room allowed. 'Ready?'
Another nod, and then Lisa raised her hand to her face, and summoned her mask.

.

The scary thing was how her Reiatsu changed. The mask wasn't too bad, yes, it was strange to see a white diamond shape where her face was supposed to be. But Nanao could see her eyes through the slits, and that was strangely beautiful.

But even as she took in the change in appearance, she felt her body go into fighting mode from the Hollows Reiatsu that was surrounding her, so different from Lisa's, darker and dangerous.

She fought down the reflex to ready a kido spell, fought down the fear, and kept her gaze and her voice steady as she said. 'Okay. Now change back please.' Lisa did, immediately, and two seconds later her Reiatsu returned to the one Nanao knew.

.

Lisa

That had gone better than expected. Nanao hadn't attacked, or panicked, or run. Lisa watched as she breathed deeply a few times.

'Thank you.' the younger woman said. Lisa stared for a moment. 'What?' 'For changing back. And for showing me I suppose. Now, I need a moment to order my thoughts.'
Lisa nodded, and sat down. Nanao sat down as well, surprising her, since Lisa had expected her to be too nervous to calmly sit.

As Nanao thought, Lisa considered herself. What was she expecting Nanao to do, really? She had confessed, asking Lisa to be her girlfriend, and Lisa answered by showing her her monster. But it had been necessary. So now she new. Still, Lisa didn't expect Nanao to back down.
Hopefully, she would note the information (my girlfriend has a scary hollow inside of her) ask her not to change if it wasn't necessary, which Lisa didn't do anyways, and move on.

After a short time, Nanao got up again.

'Please show me again.' Lisa found herself staring at her again.

.

Nanao

She considered the Reiatsu she had felt, and her knowledge about hollows and visored.

From reading and talking to the visored, she knew that they had defeated their hollows once, they were in control of their hollow forms now. They thought and acted like themselves even with their masks, despite the changes. How quickly Lisa had changed back proved that.

Still, a hollow was `enemy´ per definition for a Shinigami. Only it wasn't. There also were the arrancar. Nanao hadn't been present during the battle above Karakura town, but she had read the reports and talked to her captain and captain Ukitake.

The difference was astounding.
In the reports, the arrancar were the enemy, even though they had been betrayed by Aizen later.
But Kyouraku and Ukitake had described their opponents; a polite, intelligent man who didn't want to fight, a young girl whom Ukitake called adorable.
From what he said, it sounded like he had played a game with her, that she had been worried about her partner, even about Kyouraku. Nanao knew to take Ukitake's reports on people with a little more pessimism, but still.
And they had described the combined arrancar as kind, caring about his fellow arrancar, and most of all lonely, and both had expressed sadness at the fact that they had had to fight at all.

So, Nanao decided that she definitely had to stop thinking of hollows as all bad. And she needed a little more distinction there, between the lower ones, who acted only on instinct, and the talking, thinking ones.

.

That settled, she stood up again, turning to Lisa, who had given her the time to think without complaint. She appreciated that.

'Please show me again.' she asked the other woman, and felt herself smile at the surprised expression she got again. She was getting good at that.

Lisa got up and stepped back, giving Nanao another look as if waiting for her to change her mind, before donning her mask again.

.

Of course, there was the reflex to fight again, because she sensed a hollow, but this time Nanao focused on the knowledge that hollow didn't equal enemy, and she stayed calm.

Then she tried to read the Reiatsu more, to get used to it, and she noticed that it still felt like Lisa's a little. Which again was scary for a moment, feeling the familiar Reiatsu but so changed, but Nanao didn't dwell on it, and just filed the way the Reiatsu felt into her mind, so she could recognize it.

Then she smiled softly at Lisa, who was watching her silently.

'I know you can talk.' she said, for lack of anything better. Lisa just nodded, still not saying anything, and Nanao searched her mind.

Right. 'Your voice will sound different, right? Answer in words please.' 'Yes.' Lisa said, voice echoing strangely behind her mask. Nanao nodded. Something else she would have to get used to. She sat down again, looking up when Lisa didn't move.

'Should I change back now?' she asked. Nanao shook her head. 'Not yet, I'm still deconstructing your Reiatsu.' and after looking at her a moment she added 'Sit down, will you?'
Lisa sat.

It was harder to communicate this way, because she couldn't read Lisa's reaction from her face, but Nanao noted how slowly Lisa moved as she sat down. She probably still worried about scaring Nanao, understandable but unnecessary, as she noticed more and more of Lisa's Reiatsu around her.

.

Lisa

As the minutes passed, Lisa got the feeling that she was more on edge that Nanao. Which was illogical, but it seemed she had to get used to being in her hollow form in company too. So she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Only to be shocked when she felt a hand on her lower arm, and nearly jumping across the room.

'One might think I'm the hollow.' Nanao commented dryly.

Lisa stared at her. The result of the time spend together was that she was much better at reading Nanao. She was looking serious at fist glance, but looking closer, she was obviously trying not to grin. Which suggested… 'Did you just do that intentionally?'

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Nanao

She let herself grin openly then. Of course she had, noticing how tense Lisa was, and deciding that shocking her was the best solution. And she discovered that she really enjoyed surprising the older woman.

'Would I do that? I mean, you have been my mentor for years, would that really be something I could have learned from you?' she asked, leaving her hand on Lisa's arm.

The mask made the laugh sound strange, different, but still so catching that Nanao joined in it.

.

.

Ukitake

He looked at Kyouraku questioningly after the girls had left, and got a grin in return. 'What, you want to take a bath too?'

He laughed and shook his head, Kyouraku's calmness having answered his question already. Still Kyouraku spoke again. 'They will be fine, don't worry.'

They finished their lunch, and Ukitake decided to wait for their return before going back to work.

'Are you sure? What if they are really bathing, and won't be back until tomorrow?' Kyouraku grinned. Ukitake demonstratively leaned onto him. 'Then I will be here until tomorrow. Besides, Nanao will get back to work. She isn't evil enough to leave us wondering like this.'

'Nothing but your curiosity would make you neglect your work, hm?' Kyouraku pulled him slightly closer, and Ukitake let himself relax against him, even as he pretended to roll his eyes at him.
'That's not true at all. Do you want a list? Starting in the academy, there was me having to wake you up, you being sure you knew the way and getting us lost, us falling asleep during the day, your awful sense of time…' Kyouraku laughed. 'I see, all my fault, is it? Well, that's not as bad as all the times you made me be on time, waking me up way to early, forcing me to cut my breakfast short, stopping me from exploring interesting new routes...'

Ukitake closed his eyes, feeling the content smile on his face.

.

He opened them again when he heard the door slide open, and then Lisa's exasperated voice. 'Come on, you can't seriously tell me you are not together. That's just ridiculous.'

He had to admit that he saw her point. Kyouraku was lying on the floor, legs bend as always, an arm around Ukitake, who was using his upper body as a pillow, as always.

It wasn't like they hadn't done this before, but in this case she was still right.

But Ukitake decided to leave the answering to Kyouraku, and started looking over the girls, searching for clues.

'We aren't denying anything, are we?' Kyouraku asked behind him. Ukitake had noted them smiling, standing closer than before, both relaxed, and choose that moment to carry on Kyouraku's reply. 'So, are you seriously telling us you are not together?'

He noticed the way they turned to each other, both uncertain, but before he could start worrying, they smiled at each other.

'Actually, it would be a lie if we seriously told you that.' Lisa replied, though she seemed more interested in watching Nanao blush and smile at that, than in seeing their reaction.

Ukitake heard and felt the nearly silent laugh that Kyouraku always made when he laughed not from amusement or surprise, but purely from happiness, and leaned back against him, content.

The End.