A/N: As I am "stuck" on my Theory of Knowledge essay (a ridiculous assignment dealing with sense perception), I decided that I better put my time to good use by updating another chapter for your reading pleasure. I'd like to thank everyone for their heart-warming reviews and humbly hope that you enjoy this chapter as well.
Tossed Aside
Chapter Three: Prelude to an Awkward Situation
Nanao awoke with a start, her breathing quick and uneven. She was surrounded by darkness. She assumed that it was rather late at night due to the overwhelming quiet.
Blinking her eyes, she welcomed the blankness of her surroundings, for it removed from her vision the sight of Kyōraku Taichō lying on the ground, the hollow looming over him. Nanao supposed that this must be the reason she kept rejecting unfamiliar reiatsu during sleep. She continuously relived that horrible moment again and again behind her closed eyelids. Caught in her dreams, she must have lashed out at anything unfamiliar; subconsciously thinking it was something she must defend against.
Nanao rolled her head to the side, which elicited a soft groan of protest as her shoulder reacted to the movement. She was surprised to find that the chair beside her bed was empty, her captain's straw hat tossed carelessly onto it. She turned her head to face her injured left side, the sore muscles inflicting even more pain on the wounded fukutaichō.
She squinted as her eyes were met with a flickering light beyond her bed curtain. She could just make out the shadowed forms of her Taichō and Unohana. Their voices were hushed but loud enough that Nanao could hear them clearly.
"Yare, yare, Unohana-san," Shunsui was saying. "You look like you're about to fall over. You can't heal anyone like this, let alone someone as injured as Nanao-chan."
"Kyōraku Taichō," Unohana replied softly, "I will do what I must for my patients. Nanao Fukutaichō's healing cannot be delayed or her recovery is questionable. As soon as she wakes, I will administer treatment."
Shunsui ran a hand through his hair, pushing the stray pieces out of his face. "Isn't there anyone else who can do it?" he asked with a sigh.
Unohana shook her head. "No, my squad has been stretched thin in the wake of the battle. Even when they are fully rested only Hanatarou and my fukutaichō have power enough for this type of injury. There is also the fact that Nanao has been rejecting unfamiliar reiatsu during sleep. I do not think that it will happen when she is awake, but it would be best if I did it."
Nanao's brow furrowed. If Unohana Taichō was not fully recovered, Nanao refused to allow the healer to endanger herself for Nanao's sake.
"Is power the only issue, or is there some complicated skill involved?" Shunsui asked, folding his arms in his haori. Unohana frowned slightly in thought.
"Well, I suppose that any Captain-class shinigami would be able to do the procedure, as long as they had training in basic healing techniques. However, the reiatsu level must be anything but basic and wielded with excellent control …" Unohana trailed off.
As soon as Nanao's quick brain had processed the criteria she had reached a solution. A part of her couldn't quite believe she was actually considering it. Another part of her, however, couldn't believe she was questioning her decision.
"Then let Kyōraku Taichō do it," Nanao said softly, but firmly.
Shunsui pulled the curtain back with a swift yank. "Nanao-chan!" he exclaimed, striding to her side. "How long have you been awake?" He gave her a mock-suspicious look.
"Long enough," she said, looking over his shoulder as Unohana gracefully glided to stand next to her captain. Nanao noticed immediately the dark circles under the healer's eyes which were highlighted by the light from the gas lamp.
"May I check your wounds, Nanao-san?" Unohana asked, lowering the blanket without a reply and slightly parting the front of the black yukata Nanao was wearing. The healer frowned and traced a finger down the bloodstained bandages. "Your wound hasn't stopped bleeding fully. I wish you would have gotten a little more rest, but I'm afraid we must start the healing right away." She turned toward Shunsui. "Kyōraku Taichō, if you would please excuse―"
"No," Nanao cut her off. "With all due respect, Unohana Taichō I overheard your conversation. Every shinigami goes through basic healing kidō at the academy. The first rule you learn is to never attempt a healing if you don't have adequate energy, or you can end up hurting both the patient and yourself. I refuse to let you place yourself in danger for my sake."
"Nanao-san," Unohana protested, the slight widening of her eyes the only indication of surprise. "It is important that your wound is sealed immediately, or I fear that you will not fully recover your abilities."
"Then Kyōraku Taichō will seal it," Nanao replied, her determined eyes meeting Shunsui's slightly stunned ones.
Unohana glanced between them. "Nanao-san, you have thought this through haven't you? With the placement of your wound, there may be certain issues with privacy that cannot be avoided," the captain finished delicately.
"I know," Nanao said quietly, her eyes still not leaving Shunsui's. Unohana stood up, smoothing out the front of her robes.
"Well, then," she said demurely. "If Kyōraku Taichō agrees, then I will permit it." Unohana glanced at Shunsui who was still staring at Nanao. In an unusual sight, uncertainty filled his features.
"Taichō," Nanao said, her eyes almost pleading. "Exactly four days ago I remember you saying that you would do anything for your Nanao-chan."
Shunsui's gaze softened. "Hai, Nanao," he replied, his voice low. "Anything for you."
- - -
Nanao hissed in pain as Unohana brought her into a sitting position. She blushed as the healer gently undid the sash on the dark robe.
Nanao watched with wide eyes as the garment pooled on the bed, the full ramifications of her decision crashing around her. She had made it rashly in order to prevent Unohana Taichō from harming herself. And, though Nanao had known at the time just what she was asking for when she practically demanded that her captain heal her, the reality of it was becoming difficult to face.
Nanao closed her eyes as the Fourth Squad captain slowly unknotted a bandage and began to unwind it. As more and more of her torso was exposed, Nanao grew more and more uneasy. She had spent over a century evading Kyōraku Taichō's relentless advances. Though she knew that he would have gladly acted on the slightest indication of her feelings towards him, Nanao had always resisted for numerous reasons; a romantic relationship would be inappropriate given their professional positions, and she often suspected that his bountiful compliments were only teasing jabs designed to mock her more conservative nature.
Nanao did not know which scared her more; the possibility that her captain's praises were nothing more than a long-running joke, or the chance that when he daily swore his undying love for her, he was being absolutely serious.
Despite the belief of many of her fellow shinigami, Nanao was not an unsociable bookworm. She preferred to have a small group of meaningful friends, because she believed in giving everything she could to them. It was Nanao who had carried a drunken Matsumoto home at ungodly hours of the morning and prepared her tea. It was Nanao who spent her spare time at the academy helping her friends develop their kidō skills. And, it was Nanao Fukutaichō who everyone in the Eighth Division came to when they needed logical advice on how to handle a problem.
Nanao had dated. Nanao had loved. But never had she loved anyone so much as Kyōraku Shunsui. If she were honest with herself, Nanao had come to accept his faults and even felt lonely when the office wasn't filled with his snores. Nothing in Nanao's daily life both helped to bolster her hope and tear her self-confidence to shreds like one of his constant compliments. Nanao knew that once she allowed herself to love her captain, she would not be able to prevent herself from giving everything to him, all that she was. That scared her more than anything.
And here she was practically offering her body to him.
Her stomach flipped with barely suppressed nerves as Unohana lay her back down, picking up a bowl off of the bedside table. The healer began to meticulously cleanse the jaggedly torn skin.
"Nanao-san," Unohana said quietly, moving the cool sponge in a soothing, circular motion over her skin. "I would like to thank you. You are doing this to spare me and I appreciate it." The captain paused, dipping the sponge back into the bowl before resuming washing.
"I must warn you, however. I said earlier that this healing could be very intense. I do not say this lightly. It will be painful, there is no doubt. However, now that Kyōraku Taichō is performing the healing there might be more than just the pain. Since his reiatsu will make direct contact with your soul chain, whatever sensations you feel may be intensified. Whatever you feel, Nanao-san you must not resist." She fixed Nanao with a knowing look.
Unohana placed the bowl calmly on the beside table before sliding the robe back over Nanao's shoulders, tying it closed in an effort to provide Nanao with privacy for as long as possible. "Are you ready, Nanao-san? Shall I send Kyōraku Taichō in?" Unohana asked gently. Nanao knew she was giving her time to prepare herself and thanked her silently.
"Hai," Nanao responded, her voice barely a whisper.
"Very well, I am going to go to my office and rest for a little while to give you some privacy. Please have Kyōraku Taichō fetch me when you are finished." The plaited-captain squeezed Nanao's hand in comfort before departing, leaving Nanao alone in the dancing light of the lamp.
Too soon for Nanao's liking, footsteps drew near the curtain accompanied by a familiar shadow. As her captain slowly drew the fabric back, Nanao felt as if he had just removed any semblance of control she had had in the situation. He stood there, illuminated by the light behind him. Nanao's breath caught in anticipation.
He approached the bed, and with a single sweep of his arm, removed his infamous haori placing it next to his previously abandoned hat. Shunsui rolled up the sleeves of his uniform before sitting on the bed, in the crook of her side.
He raised his eyes to meet hers. There was an expression there that Nanao had never seen before, and wasn't quite sure she wanted to know the implications of. He raised a calloused hand and gently caressed her cheek, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"How lucky am I to have such a lovely savior as my Nanao-chan?" he said. There an odd quality to his voice.
"Taichō, are you drunk?" she asked softly, her eyes searching his unusually serious face.
"No, Nanao-chan," he replied with a wistful smile. "I am not drunk." A tension-filled silence settled between them.
"Taichō?" Nanao whispered softly when she could no longer stand the silence. "I'm ready."
His eyes met and held hers once more. Without breaking her gaze, he slowly loosened the sash on her yukata; a move she was sure he had much practice with over his long lifetime. Nanao was surprised when he did not remove it as she had expected him to. Instead, he only slipped the left shoulder partially down, leaving her as covered as possible.
Nanao couldn't suppress a shiver as his warm hand gently caressed her skin. He placed one steadying hand on her good shoulder as the other one flared with the warm glow of his reiatsu.
"I'm sorry, Nanao-chan," he said, before he gently brought his hand down on the upper- most part of her wound
A/N: Okay, so maybe being accosted by Byakuya isn't so threatening a situation. In retrospect, I would sincerely enjoy being in that situation. So…erm…if you don't review NOW, I'm going to let Ishida use you for target practice! Take that!