A/N: Over one hundred reviews! (Breaks out bottles of sake and pink haoris for everyone in honor of the occasion) I'd like to thank all of the little people…Anyway; I honestly would like to thank everyone for taking the time to review. Seeing as next week is finals week, I probably won't have much time to write Chapter Nine, but I assure you it's all swirling around in my brain just waiting to be written. Also, I am introducing just one made up character who matters to the plotline so you can all just deal with it. Her name is rather fitting, though I won't tell you why until the end. And as I believe I left you, Nanao, Shunsui, and Matsumoto in a rather embarrassing situation, I'll let you get on to enjoying the chapter!
Tossed Aside
Chapter Eight: Stars
Nanao's head snapped up, staring in horrified disbelief at her shocked friend's face, her glasses slipping down her nose as her sodden fringe fell into her eyes. She opened her mouth, attempting to form words but couldn't seem to find the ability.
"Why hello, Ran-san!" Shunsui said cheerily, angling his head from his position under Nanao to better view his favorite drinking partner. "What brings you here?"
Lowering her hand from her mouth, Matsumoto arched one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "I came to see if Nanao was alright since she missed the meeting this morning." A smirk blossomed on her face. "But I see you're busy."
"Not at all," he assured, grinning up at Nanao who was still frozen in humiliation. She was muttering what sounded like, 'this cannot be happening' over and over again like a mantra. "Nanao-chan, Rangiku came all the way from the Tenth Division to visit you. Aren't you going to greet your friend?"
Snapping out of her daze Nanao gripped her poor excuse for a garment tightly in one hand and pushed her glasses up with the other one. From behind the lenses she fixed Shunsui with a glare that could have had even the most fearless shinigami quaking in his sandals.
"Taichō, please refrain from speaking," she grit out, shoving him down roughly as she scurried to stand up. "Rankigu," Nanao began reticently, biting her lip. "This is not what it looks like."
"Oh, but Nanao, I really hope it is what it looks like!" Matsumoto gushed, clasping her hands in front of her swelling chest. "I am so happy for you!" she squealed, rushing forward to fling her arms around her best friend's neck before skipping over to give Shunsui the same treatment, jumping up and down happily. "I mean, FINALLY!"
"But Rangiku―" Nanao began but was cut off as the blonde wagged a finger at her.
"Now, now, Nanao," she chided, grinning. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. It's only natural to indulge in our desires every now and again, isn't that right Kyōraku-san?"
"Of course, Ran-san," Shunsui agreed standing up and brushing himself off.
"Oh, but who would have thought you would be so bad," Matsumoto teased, nudging the furiously blushing Nanao with her hip and winking conspiratorially. "I mean breaking down the door in your rush to get in last night! Even I've never had that happen before…" She trailed off as if pondering exactly why she had never had that happen to her.
"We did not break the door down!" Nanao burst out frustrated. "We didn't do anything. We have never done anything," she exclaimed emphatically.
"Yare, yare, Nanao-chan," Shunsui interjected with an expression of fake hurt on his face. "It's not honorable to lie. You can't deny that we have done some things," he finished with a roguish wink, taking great pleasure as a vein on his fair fukutaichō's temple began to throb at the same time her face turned pinker than his haori. He was pleased to note that the memory of the previous night was still close to her mind even after the interruption.
Matsumoto clapped happily, giggling. "You and I are going to have a long conversation tonight," she said squeezing Nanao's hand. "Right now, I have to go and collect from Taichō. I told him I would win!"
Shunsui perked his head up in interest. "So there really is a betting pool then?"
"Erm…I wouldn't know." Matsumoto replied with a hint of nervous laughter, wincing at the fairly murderous aura emanating off of her friend.
Nanao looked about ready to remove her glasses. Anything but that.
"This was more of a spur of the moment agreement with Taichō," Matsumoto clarified, her look turning almost predatory. "You both came up in conversation one day. He claimed that Nanao would never give in and that Kyōraku-san would move on. I, who knew better, told him that you two were bound to happen eventually. Taichō was so confident that he asked me if I was willing to put paperwork where my mouth was. I told him only if he was willing to put his mouth on mine." She smiled cheekily. "So, my adorable Taichō owes me a kiss, and I'm going to collect it!" Matsumoto, bouncing in excitement turned to exit the apartment.
"I'm sorry, Rangiku," Nanao said through clenched teeth, latching onto her friend's hakama. "You're going to have to find other means of extracting that…favor from your Taichō." She turned her ice-cold scowl on Shunsui. "Taichō, I trust you can see yourself out. I'll be down to the office as soon as I'm done speaking with Rangiku. And please send someone over to repair my door. Follow me, Rangiku," Nanao ordered with an air of dignity that few wearing only a towel could muster.
Shunsui stared dreamily at Nanao. In fact, he was imagining in extreme detail what it would be like to have Nanao wandering around his own apartment in a towel every morning. How wonderful it would be to be able to ensnare her in his arms and give the garment one swift tug before muffling her half-hearted protests with his mouth. To know that only he could watch her expressive violet eyes grow cloudy with desire...
He was unduly ripped out of this vision when Nanao went to brush past him, leading a protesting Rangiku behind her. Nanao's foot skidded in the forgotten puddle of water, sending all three of them sprawling on the floor in the entrance to Nanao's living room.
Nanao hadn't thought it was possible to fall in a more embarrassing position than earlier that day, but she wondered if they had just managed it. Raising her head with a soft hiss of protest as her jarred wound throbbed painfully, Nanao realized that she had landed half lying on top of Shunsui, her legs entangled with his and her head cradled by his arm. Mastumoto had landed pressed against his upper thighs.
"Sorry, Kyōraku-san," Matusmoto said, rubbing her mussed head and beginning to sit up.
"Ah, Rangiku," Nanao said hesitantly. "Your erm…" she gestured with one hand to Matsumoto's hakama which had fallen dangerously low, her enormous breasts almost fully exposed. Nanao quickly dropped the hand as she attempted to find the other end of her towel, in order to ensure that the front of her, which was currently exposed and pressed against her captain's side (preventing him from viewing anything), would be covered when she sat up.
"Oh," Matsumoto giggled, reaching up to adjust the collar of her uniform. "I've fallen out again!"
It was then when Nanao began to wonder if she had the worst luck of any dead person ever, as the petite new squad member chose that moment to stroll by the door to Nanao's quarters. The girl did a quick double take, pausing in the door, her mouth falling open in shock.
"Salutations, Takahashi-san!" Shunsui greeted jovially. "Nanao-chan, have you met our lovely new division member yet? She's the one I sent to check on you earlier."
Nanao was unable to form any words as her abject humiliation multiplied tenfold. She buried her burning face in Shunsui's shoulder and let out a muffled groan of embarrassment.
"Hello!" Matsumoto grinned cheerfully, waving as she attempted to fit herself back into her top.
"Nanao," Shunsui scolded. "How rude you are, first you won't say hello to your own best friend and now you're being unpleasant to our new member!"
Shaking her head in disbelief, her face bright enough to rival Nanao's, the girl merely turned and walked away mumbling, "Why, oh why couldn't I have been sent to the sixth squad?"
Her head still buried in Shunsui's shoulder, Nanao could only nod her assent.
- - -
Shunsui came to stand behind Nanao as she worked diligently by the flickering glow of the single lamp on her desk. Placing his hands on either side of his fukutaichō, he leant down to view the tedious document over her shoulder. He was so close that she could feel his heat seeping through the back of her uniform.
"Yare, Nanao-chan," he rumbled, his breath hot on her already flushed cheek. "You're so tense, you need to relax." He gently freed her hair from the confines of the pins which held it so neatly in place, tossing them carelessly over his shoulder before running his large hand through the threads of ebony silk.
"Why don't you just sit there and let me do all the work for once?" he crooned, as his lips placed a warm kiss in the hollow of her throat, his hand slipping into her hakama. She arched in pleasure as he chuckled, his hand gliding ever so slowly lower…
Nanao slammed her pen on the desk in frustration causing her young female companion to jump in surprise. The petite girl raised her curious eyes, hidden behind her own square frames to meet her fukutaichō's. Nanao blushed slightly.
"I apologize, Takahashi-san," she said, adjusting her glasses. "This… report is rather frustrating." Looking rather skeptical, the brunette returned to sorting files of paperwork into appropriate boxes for delivery and storage.
Nanao observed the girl surreptitiously. After Nanao had finally had finally managed to kick her captain out of her apartment and complete a very lengthy and embarrassingly detailed conversation with Matsumoto before swearing her to secrecy, Nanao had made it a priority to track down the poor girl who had happened by the scene of the accident to explain the situation. Though at the end of Nanao's pre-rehearsed speech, the girl had merely flashed her that same dubious look she had moments ago, she had lowered her eyes respectfully and introduced herself as Takahashi Okuni. After exchanging some awkward pleasantries, Okuni had asked if there was anything Nanao could use some help with. Surprised, Nanao had allowed her sort through the files, nodding in approval at the accuracy and efficiency with which the girl was completing her task.
Now she only wished she could complete her own task in the same manner.
That had been the third daydream Nanao had slipped into since beginning her paperwork hours prior. She was growing increasingly frustrated at her inability to keep her thoughts purely professional about her Taichō. While they had not been this for some time now, she usually possessed the control to push her less platonic thoughts aside and finish her paperwork before indulging.
Sighing, Nanao picked up her ink brush once more and poised it determinedly over the document she was currently reviewing. She did not have time for daydreams right now, she had paperwork to complete.
"Nanaoooooooo-chan!"
She swore beneath her breath.
"My lovely, radiant, Nanaooooooooooo-chan!" Shunsui called in annoying high-pitched voice as he burst into the office, carrying a large tray laden with food. "I brought you dinner, my ravishing Nanao―" he broke off, staring into Okuni's upturned face. "You're not my Nanao-chan."
"No, sir." Okuni deadpanned before remembering he was her commanding officer. She dropped her gaze slightly, flushing. Shunsui narrowed his eye critically.
"You two could almost be related, except your hair is too light. But you blush just like she does," he smiled wistfully before catching sight of his fukutaichō out of the corner of his gaze. "Ah, but no one is as stunning as my beauteous Nanao-chan," he warbled as he swept over to place the tray on her desk, carefully avoiding the flaming lamp. "I brought you dinner," he repeated softly next to her ear causing her to flush.
"I heard you the first time Taichō," she replied tartly, continuing to write.
"Aren't you going to eat, Nanao?" he asked, concerned. "You haven't been to the mess all day." Ignoring his scrutiny, Nanao kept her eyes focused on her document.
"I will eat when I'm caught up with the paperwork, Kyōraku Taichō," she replied, signing her name at the end of the document and placing it neatly on the 'finished' stack before reaching for a new one.
"Ah, ah, ah, Nanao-chan," Shunsui teased, snatching the paper out of her hand. "No more paperwork until you've eaten everything on that tray."
"Taichō, please…" Exasperated, Nanao went to reach for the document he was dangling above her head, but ended up hissing pain as her stiff shoulder protested painfully at the movement. She bit her lip and sunk back into her chair, attempting to hide how sore her wound really was.
"So, your shoulder is still bothering you?" Shunsui asked, depositing the document on top of the 'yet to be completed' stack, and taking the opportunity to pluck the pen out of her grasp. "Why didn't you tell me, Nanao?" he asked, his brow furrowed in concern as he leaned on the desk directly in front of her, crossing his arms. "You should have gone to see Unohana-san."
"I'm fine, Taichō," she said, gazing determinedly in front of her before realizing exactly what she was eye level with. Blushing, she lifted her head to meet his eyes as he chuckled in amusement. "I've just been sitting too long in one position. I'll take some pain medication when I go back to my quarters."
"Are you sure some reiatsu wouldn't help more?" Shunsui asked, only half in jest. Nanao reddened further, unable to tear her eyes from his as her earlier fantasy surfaced again in her mind. The question hung, an invitation suspended by the tangible amount of tension resonating between the two. Sensing this, Okuni secured the lid on the last box of files and stood up.
"I'm finished with the filing, Ise Fukutaichō," she said, her eyes glancing amusedly between her superior officers. "It's rather late; I think I'll go to my quarters now, if you don't mind."
"Of course," Nanao replied distractedly, not even looking at Okuni. With a small smirk and an elegant bow, the girl exited the room as quickly and quietly as possible, leaving Shunsui and Nanao alone in the dimly lit office. They remained still for a few moments longer.
"You should eat something before the food gets cold, Nanao," Shunsui said quietly, breaking the silence.
"Hai," she responded just as softly. He shifted to his feet, moving the tray to the middle of the desk before perching himself on the corner of the large surface. He retrieved a bottle of sake out of the folds of his robe and cracked it open as he watched her begin to eat. When he was satisfied that she was actually going to consume the contents of the tray, instead of merely pick at the food, he struck up a conversation, hoping to put his incredibly tense and exhausted fukutaichō at ease.
As he regaled her dramatically with all of the excitement of morning drills she had missed, Shunsui surveyed her critically in the dancing light. She was getting too thin again and she had dark circles under her eyes despite the fact that she'd overslept that morning. And her wound really was bothering her, he noticed, as she continually kept rolling her left shoulder slightly and arching her back when she thought he wasn't looking.
"You need to take better care of yourself, Nanao-chan," Shunsui said as she neatly stacked her finished plates on the tray. He enjoyed watching her incredible eyes widen almost imperceptibly behind her glasses. Even though they had this conversation every few months, it always surprised her when he brought it up.
"I do take care of myself, sir," she replied stiffly.
"Ah, so that's why you haven't eaten all day and I found you doing paperwork at a quarter after eleven when you're still recovering from a severe slash wound."
Shunsui corked his bottle of sake and slid off of her desk as she stood, preparing to walk the tray back to the mess hall so it could be cleaned.
"I would have come into the office today but I thought you wouldn't appreciate it, after the ah…incident this morning." He moved to stand behind her, taking pleasure in the fact that her movements stilled when his hands slid sensuously up her thighs to grip her hips.
When did he learn how to read me so well? was all Nanao could think as his thumbs traced small patterns where they rested and the delightful feel of his warmth soaked into her back, her skin breaking out in goose bumps.
"I am touched by your concern," she said archly, gripping the tray in her shaking hands and turning around, forcing him to let go of her. "I didn't know you cared so much about your paperwork."
He chuckled lowly, sending thrills down Nanao's spine. "Is it so wrong to not see the point of putting serious effort into things I don't care about, like paperwork? I prefer to conserve my energy for things that really matter to me." His voice grew suddenly soft and serious as he maneuvered her to face him. "Like you, my Nanao-chan."
He lifted her gently until she was sitting on her desk, the tray a defensive barrier between them.
"Nanao," he breathed, lifting a hand to stroke a rebellious lock of hair behind her ear.
Her heart was pounding a primal drumbeat, every vein in her body echoing to its spastic rhythm as his touch sent heat scorching straight through her. Confused and defensive, Nanao reacted the only way she new how, by forming a large threatening ball of reaitsu. She brought her hand back, expecting to meet contact with his shoulder, or even the air. What she did not expect was for him to catch her wrist with his own hand. He held her arm firmly, but not painfully in his calloused grip, as his earthen eyes met her own. She wondered if perhaps she had threatened him one time too many.
Feeling utterly defenseless, Nanao watched in surprised amazement as Shunsui deliberately formed his own flare of reiatsu with his free hand before bringing his palm to hers with an agonizing slowness.
The tray slipped off of Nanao's lap with an unheeded crash as pure, unadulterated pleasure coursed through her at the contact. Shunsui wove their hands together, using them to tug her gently to the edge of the desk. Her legs opened of their own violation and he fit himself snugly between them, relishing the contact.
She moved against him as their reiatsu's soared, intertwining as their bodies longed to. He groaned, his free hand coming to rest on the small of her back, gripping the fabric of her uniform as he attempted to free her skin.
Nanao used her free hand to rip open her shirt. She had never wanted to beg for anything so badly in her life, to give in to someone so badly in all of her life. She whimpered when he broke the connection between their hands, only to muffle her scream of pleasure moments later when he ripped the bandages around her chest in one tug and placed both of his hands along the healing wound.
She brought him even closer to her with trembling thighs, clawing his shirt open with fumbling hands, lighting her reiatsu once more. She wanted him to feel exactly what he was doing to her, needed him to feel it too. She placed her hand directly over his heart, feeling his pulse race in time with hers, as her body trembled with the combined force of their spirit power. Convulsing as the heat built; she ground her hips against his, barely noticing as her name escaped his lips almost like a prayer.
"Nanao…"
Just when she thought she would go insane from need at the same time her body couldn't possible handle anymore, his mouth slanted over hers.
And when the solitary lamp spluttered and died, all Nanao could see were stars.
A/N: REVIEW…or I will tell Karin Kurosaki you want to play goalie in the kids' next soccer game…That hurts just thinking about it…