A/N: Thanks everyone for all of the encouragement in your reviews! So, here's another chapter for all of you, hot off of the editorial desk. I'm kind of tired, so please excuse any typos or grammatical errors. I am also going to apologize in advance if the next chapter is slightly delayed in updating. I have lots of schoolwork due next week, which might prevent me from updating as frequently as I have been. I would rather wait a little while between updates and release a good chapter, instead of a crappy one for the sake of updating. ANYWAY, enough of my ranting…it's time to get on with the chapter!
Tossed Aside
Chapter Four: Like Kidō
"I'm sorry, Nanao-chan," he said before he gently brought his hand down on the upper most part of her wound.
The pain was instantaneous. Nanao felt as if her skin was being slowly burned off. She bit her lip to keep from screaming at the horrible rending feeling. Her hands fisted in the sheets as every muscle in her already aching body was overridden. She whimpered, unable to stop herself as the pain was soon joined by another sensation altogether.
The unexpected heat and pleasure crashed over Nanao in a wave, her eyes flying open in surprise. Her teeth tore through the sensitive skin of her lip and the copper taste of blood lingered on her tongue. The pain returned without warning, causing Nanao to cry out; her back arching uncontrollably when euphoria replaced it once more.
"Shhh, Nanao," she heard her Taichō rumble, soothingly. "Give in Nanao, let go."
Her defenses crumbled against the next onslaught of feeling and Nanao knew that she could not have resisted even had she wanted to. She was acutely aware of every sensation; the slightly rough feel of his hand as it skimmed across her chest, the throbbing pain left behind in its wake, the heat that pooled in her stomach the closer his carefully controlled reiatsu came to making direct contact with her soul chain.
When Shunsui's hand came to rest right over the center of her wound, Nanao's back arched again. His hand came beneath her, bringing her into a sitting position and holding her steady against him. His reiatsu flared within her, filling her, every fiber of her being resonating with his very essence. Her fists clenched in the fabric of his uniform as her own weak reiastu, flared in response to his.
"Nanao," he whispered his voice strained as their energy met, gliding almost sensuously against the other's until for a brief moment, coalescing into one force. All she knew was pain and him and all he knew was her.
Shunsui struggled for control, forcing himself to maintain a hold on his reiatsu and finish sealing the gash. When he finally drew his hand away from her hip, Nanao collapsed against him. Her hands were still buried in the front of his uniform and she was trembling uncontrollably. Their harsh breathing echoed in the silence of the room.
Shunsui went to gently lay Nanao down but she shook her head.
"Please, I can't―" she struggled for air, her voice soft and pleading. "I can't move just yet."
Since Nanao never begged for anything, Shunsui complied readily, enfolding her in his arms. She pressed her head into the crook of his neck.
"Are you alright, Nanao?" Shunsui asked, concerned. He had never seen his usually unflappable fukutaichō so undone before.
She nodded almost imperceptibly against his neck. "Yes," she swallowed. "I just…need a moment." He brought her close to him, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her. She shivered slightly in his embrace.
"Are you cold, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear before tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. He let his hand linger there, savoring the fact that she was allowing him to touch her. Usually, any attempts to do so were met with a resounding whack with her ever-present ledger, a response which had become as endearing to Shunsui as it was frustrating.
"Hai," she responded softly, her voice hoarse from her cries. He leaned over and grabbed his flamboyant pink haori off of the chair, enveloping Nanao in it. She breathed deeply, the warmth of his body calming her. The familiar scent of sake and incense was soothing. She blushed when she felt the rough stubble of his cheek tickle her forehead as he placed a tender kiss there. Though Nanao knew she should draw away, her only response was to nuzzle her further into his neck.
They were both unaware of how long they sat there; languishing in the presence of the other but neither was willing to end it. Only when Shunsui felt Nanao's breathing deepen and he thought that she might have fallen asleep was he finally able to convince himself to break their embrace. If they stayed like this, both would wake up sore and uncomfortable.
"Nanao-chan?" he whispered, surprised when she raised her heavily-lidded eyes to meet his gaze.
"You should lie down, before you fall asleep like this," he prodded gently. She nodded tiredly, and Shunsui slowly reached below his haori and gently pulled up the sleeve of the Yukata. This time he could not help but look at the smooth expanse of creamy flesh, marred by the contrasting slash of dark pink. The wound should have been ugly, but somehow Shunsui could only think of it as beautiful. It belonged to his Nanao, and more importantly she had received it saving his life. When he had finally slid the robe back into place, securing it around her waist with lingering hands, he brought his gaze up to find Nanao looking at him strangely.
"Taichō," she whispered, opening her mouth to say more but Shunsui cut her off.
"Shhh, Nanao-chan," he said gently, guiding her down to the pillows and pulling the blankets up around her. "You should sleep now. When you are better, I will take you out on a picnic. We will drink sake and lay in the sunlight together. I will read you love poetry while the sakura blossoms fall around us. You'd like that, wouldn't you Nanao-Chan?" he smiled when his fukutaichō blinked blearily up at him.
"But what about the paperwork?"
"How can I worry about paperwork, my Nanao, when I have to worry about you?"
She nodded sleepily into the pillow, her breathing already deep and even. It wasn't until he went to stand up that Shunsui realized she still had his haori wrapped around her. He grinned as he removed her spectacles and watched her snuggle further into his favorite garment.
Yes, for his beloved Nanao-chan he would do anything, including relinquishing his prized haori for the night. In fact, Shunsui would give her his entire collection of brilliantly colored haoris if it meant that she would stay with him for at least the next few centuries.
- - -
For the next two days, Nanao slept on and off, waking only to eat meals, have salve rubbed on the long jagged slash and on her remaining bruises, and her bandages changed before drifting back into a deep slumber. She had not seen Kyōraku Taichō since that night, though Unohana told her he often dropped by to check on her when she was not awake. Nanao was beginning to wonder if he planned it that way so he wouldn't have to speak to her.
Despite this, Nanao awoke on the third day in good spirits. Her usually high reaitsu, which had been churning restlessly within her over the past few days, had settled out slightly. While it was still lower than usual, Nanao felt certain that it would be back her usual standard soon.
Her good mood was heightened when she was joined for breakfast by Ukitake Taichō, who had come to thank her for saving his best friend's life and see how she was doing. Nanao had always gotten along very well with Ukitake, seeing as they had a shared love of literature. They spent the morning discussing one of her favorite books which she had convinced Ukitake to read weeks ago. He had brought her one of his own collection to read if she felt up to it. Nanao thanked him profusely when he was forced to end their discussion and return to his captain's duties.
She spent the next hour reading, though she was having difficulty attempting to keep the book propped up and turn the pages with only one arm, seeing as her left shoulder still throbbed slightly every time she moved it. She put the book down in frustration and allowed her thoughts to drift. Not one prone to long bouts of time sitting around doing nothing, Nanao was practically chafing with boredom.
She was saved from another frustrating attempt at reading by the rather noisy entrance of her best friend, Matsumoto Rangiku who was literally bouncing with excitement.
"Nanao!" she exclaimed, rushing to her friend's side. Nanao didn't even have a chance to respond before she found her head buried between Matusmoto's enormous breasts.
"Oh, Nanao Ise! Don't you dare do that again, I was so worried about you!" the strawberry-blonde squealed while rocking Nanao back and forth in her embrace. "I kept coming to see you but you were always sleeping!" She hugged Nanao tighter, causing Nanao to fear for her safety.
"Rangiku!" she called, her voice muffled. "Rankigu, I need air!"
"What did you say?" Matsumoto asked, releasing her friend slightly.
Nanao drew farther out of her friend's dangerous clinch, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "You were hugging me so tightly I could hardly breathe."
"Sorry, Nanao," Matsumoto said, smiling sheepishly. "Anyway," she said, clapping her hands in glee as she flounced gracefully to sit on the bed facing Nanao, her tone turning conspiratorial. "So, how was it?"
Nanao raised a questioning eyebrow. "How was what?" Matsumoto rolled her eyes.
"The healing, silly!" she leaned closer to Nanao so that their noses were almost touching. "Was it good? I bet it was really good." Nanao stared at her friend perplexed.
"It was painful, obviously."
Matsumoto sighed in frustration. "Is that all it was?" she asked, eyes wide with excitement. "Because I heard Unohana Taichō telling Ukitake Taichō that Kyōraku-san healed your giant slash wound. I read somewhere that the purposeful meeting of reiatsus by people who are attracted to each other can be a very erotic experience. AND THEN," she continued, bouncing again, "I went to the Eighth Division office to see if Kyōraku-san wanted to have a glass of sake with me to celebrate your recovery. When I got there, Ukitake Taichō and Kyōraku Taichō were alone and talking, you know deep dark, manly secrets and whatnot. I heard Ukitake Taichō ask him about the healing and Kyōraku-san responded with that same wistful tone men always use after a great night in bed." She finished, their noses touching.
"So was it good?" She asked again, her eyes boring into Nanao's.
Nanao blushed and avoided her friend's gaze. Matsumoto's eyes widened.
"So it was good!" she squealed. "I knew it!" She clapped her hands again. "Tell me everything!"
"Rangiku," Nanao began incredulously. "I am not going to tell you anything. It was a very personal experience!"
"But Ise," Rangiku pleaded, squeezing Nanao's hand. "I tell you everything! And isn't this a monumental milestone in your relationship? You've pined away at Kyōraku-san for decades, and now you just practically had spirit sex with the man!"
Nanao's blush deepened. "I did not have spirit sex with Kyoraku Taicho!" she protested, spluttering.
"Whatever you say, Nanao-chan," Matsumoto said, winking. "Please, just tell me one thing and I won't ask you about it anymore."
Nanao looked at her best friends pleading eyes and gave in, partly because she knew she would get the subject dropped quicker this way, and partly because there was a small part of her that had been longing to tell someone.
"When his reiatsu reached my soul-chain," she said, picking at a stray thread on the bed sheet. "It was like he became my kidō. His essence was everywhere, down to my fingers and toes. And, when my own reiastu finally reacted to his," she finally met her best friend's gaze. "It was wonderful."
Matsumoto squealed in joy and wrapped Nanao in another suffocating hug.
"Oh that is so romantic!" she sighed, releasing Nanao. "But honestly," she said, holding her friend at arms length and pinning her with a concerned look. "This forbidden attraction thing you've got going on isn't healthy, Nanao. I wish you would just tell Kyōraku-san."
"Tell me what, Nanao-chan?" came a familiar rolling voice from the foot of Nanao's bed
A/N: If you don't review…I'm going to superglue Yachiru to your shoulders so you won't be able to get her off. Imagine how annoying that could get…