A/N: Over two-hundred reviews! You know what that means? It's time for a sake party! (Pops the cork on a bottle and downs a good portion while doing a happy dance). As of right now, it looks as if there's only one more chapter and a short epilogue to go before it's time to declare 'That's a wrap!' on this story forever. Anyway, I hope you enjoy our few, short chapters together before it all comes to an end…and don't forget to review!
Tossed Aside
Chapter Thirteen: Unlucky
Nanao was returning a book that Ukitake Taichō had borrowed from the extensive library at the Shinigami Academy. It was a menial task that could have been performed by any member of the Thirteenth Division. However, Nanao had a personal reason for volunteering for the errand. If she was lucky, Kyōraku Taichō would stop by when she was out and she could effectively avoid what was guaranteed to be an incredibly awkward meeting.
With this in mind she had taken the longest way possible to the academy. It wasn't until she'd glimpsed the position of the sun outside one of the school's windows that Nanao realized how late it was getting. She knew Ukitake was concerned about her and she didn't want to worry him further by doing something so out of character as taking an inordinate amount of time to complete a simple task.
It was for this reason that Nanao decided to take a shortcut through the school's surveillance room, which was used to monitor training activities in the living world.
There was only one technician in the room when Nanao entered and he was frantically pressing buttons as he tried to reassure what sounded like a panicking student on the other line.
It took a few moments for the words she was hearing to register but when they finally did, Nanao froze.
"HELP ME PLEASE! Kyōraku Taichō is down…help…Kyōraku Taichō…please…" a voice Nanao now recognized as Okuni's sobbed hysterically.
The words pounded across Nanao's shocked brain. It was only supposed to be a simple training mission…
"Please, Takahashi-san," the technician was pleading loudly. "Fourth Division was just sent through the gate, Kyōraku Taichō will be alright."
There was a flurry of sound which could be heard before Okuni's hoarse voice came over the line once more. "Hurry, please…Oh gods…please…help him…" There was a crackle of static and Okuni's cries faded away.
The technician was now conversing quickly with the Fourth Division officer who had apparently taken the girl's communication device, but Nanao barely paid attention to what was being said. There was only one thing running through her head.
She had to get down to the Fourth Division and she had to do it now.
- - -
Nanao used shunpo to transport herself to the Fourth Division as swiftly as possible. Once she got there however, she found she couldn't make herself walk into the building.
She needed to know what had happened to him but… it was safer out here, without knowing for sure if…if he had died.
Nanao stood transfixed outside of the infirmary's double doors, as the day slowly evaporated into darkness. After the better part of a half an hour, she forced her feet to move.
When Nanao burst into the first wing of the Fourth Division's infirmary, she was shocked and horrified to see that it was almost full. Students, bruised and battered, in many cases bleeding, were sitting or lying down on the small, white beds. Members of the healing squad bustled around, leaving the air tingling with the remnants of healing reiatsu and the smell of antiseptic.
"Gods! What the hell are you doing?" a shrill cry echoed across the large room.
"Okuni?"
The younger woman snapped her head up. Nanao almost didn't recognize her. Her hair had fallen out of the neat up-do she usually wore it in, tumbling down past her shoulders in wild waves. Her glasses were lying, flecked with blood and dirt on the bed next to her, along with a blood-stained sash and a large similarly stained steel fan which Nanao assumed was the girl's zanpakutō.
"Ise Fukutaichō!" Okuni wrenched her arm out of the grip of the Fourth Division's seventh seat, Yamada Hanatarō and bounded over to where Nanao was standing, throwing her good arm around her friend.
"Where's Kyōraku Taichō?" Nanao asked urgently.
"I don't know. Somewhere in the back I think," Okuni replied, pulling back slightly to look at Nanao's pale face. "They said that he would be fine. I wanted to go with him but Unohana Taichō made me come out to get this healed."
Nanao glanced down, noticing for the first time the fact that the shorter girl was injured. She stared thunderstruck, at Okuni's right arm. It was slashed from just above her wrist to her elbow and half-clotted with blood. New fluid was still oozing out of the top portion of the wound.
"How did you get here so fast?" Nanao wrenched her gaze away from the gash.
"I was passing through the surveillance room and I heard you…" Nanao responded, her grip tightening on the girl's shoulders. "What happened?" Nanao asked, a hint of desperation evident in her voice.
"Oh, Nanao, it was horrible," Okuni moaned, burying her head in Nanao's shoulder.
"Please," interrupted a pleading voice. Hanatarō had approached them cautiously, looking as if he was afraid that Nanao was going to treat him to a shot of her infamous kidō for intruding. "Please, Ise Fukutaichō, Takahashi-san's wound needs to be healed or she could risk permanent damage to her arm."
Letting out a mental scream of frustration at having the information she desperately needed to hear withheld, Nanao released her friend. She was a fukutaichō first, and it was her responsibility to look after her squad members.
She was too distracted to remember that technically, Okuni no longer belonged to her division.
"Of course," Nanao replied shortly.
"You may stay if you'd like to, Ise Fukutaichō," Hanataro said kindly, gently guiding Okuni toward the bed she had previously been occupying.
"Thank you, Yamada-san," Nanao said. She wondered if she looked as frazzled as she felt due to the warm pity present in the healer's gaze. "Actually," she said, adjusting her glasses. "I was wondering what room Kyōraku Taichō is in."
"The second one on the left in the next wing," Hanatarō replied, apologetically resuming the process of cleaning Okuni's wound.
"How is he?" Nanao asked, her gaze on the polished floorboards.
"His vitals are stable, which is very good. From what Takahashi-san has said, it seems he took a bad knock to the head. He probably has a concussion but the degree of it is uncertain. I wouldn't worry though," he said, giving a small, comforting smile to Nanao. "Unohana Taichō is tending to him personally."
Nanao drew in a deep breath. At least it didn't appear that his life was in danger. She desperately wanted to go and see him, but she was sure that she would only delay Unohana's work by being underfoot. Nanao sank into a chair next to the bed as Okuni hissed once more in pain.
"How did you fight with your arm like this?" Hanatarō asked, looking up with admiration at the girl sitting in front of him.
"I don't know," she replied, glancing at him. Their eyes met and both of their faces reddened as they saw how close they were.
Quickly removing his gaze, Hanatarō reached down next to the bed and brought up a long thin item. Nanao realized that it must be his zanpakutō.
Her suspicions were confirmed when he drew a deadly-looking rapier from the sheath. "I found it this morning," he said, smiling. "Good thing too because it was very useful earlier." He took a step closer to Okuni clutching the hilt.
"What are you doing?" Okuni demanded, eyeing the blade warily. She would have sounded more threatening if she hadn't looked as if she was about to fall over with exhaustion. "I've already been sliced open enough for today."
"Please, Takahashi-san my Hisagomaru heals any wound it touches," the healer supplied rapidly, seeing Okuni's left hand start inching towards her own bloodied zanpakutō.
"Oh," Okuni said, smiling sheepishly.
He returned the gesture before dropping his gaze to the blade, eying the hilt critically. Nanao had heard of his zanpakutō's abilities before and assumed he was somehow seeing if the dual-purpose weapon was still able to perform the healing without initiating its attack state.
Seemingly satisfied, Hanatarō lifted Okuni's injured arm in a gentle but firm grip.
"This might sting a little," he warned, before carefully laying the flat of the blade on the gash. Okuni bit her lip.
The air crackled with reaitsu and Nanao watched in amazement as Okuni's wound fairly vanished before her eyes, leaving a long, thin, and slightly puffy scab where the skin had been torn ruthlessly apart.
Withdrawing his zanpakutō, Hanatarō gazed down at his work.
"It might be a little stiff for a few days," he said, rotating her arm and watching her face closely for any sign of pain. "I'd like to give you some pain medication, as your muscles will probably start to cramp from overuse and make it difficult to sleep. You should stay here for the night, just to make sure your wound doesn't reopen."
He fetched a robe similar to the one Nanao had worn during her own stay in the infirmary and stammering, left Nanao to help Okuni change out of her uniform.
When Hanatarō returned a few minutes later, Nanao had Okuni already resting under the blanket.
"Are you alright, Nanao?" the brunette asked, watching her former fukutaichō as she swallowed the medication the healer had brought her. She handed the glass of water back to Hanatarō and sank back against the pillows.
"I'm fine," Nanao responded. "But I think I'll stay here tonight." Okuni nodded understandingly.
"I've been assigned to watch the ward tonight," Hanatarō informed them, as he picked up Okuni's blood-soaked uniform and sash. "I'm going to go run these to the laundry and then I'll be back. If you need anything at all during the night, let me know."
Nanao nodded. "Thank you, Yamada-san." He gave a short bow to Nanao and turned to leave.
"Wait! Yamada-san," Okuni said suddenly. "Will you tell them to be careful with my sash?" she asked, eying the length of fabric which appeared bloodstained beyond any hope of being salvaged.
He nodded, realizing how important the sash must be to her.
"Thank you," Okuni said softly. "For everything." Blushing, the healer walked up the ward and out of sight.
Nanao settled more comfortably in the chair, knowing it was bound to be a long night. Okuni was already halfway asleep, her hair spread all around her. Nanao sighed, resigned to having to wait to find out exactly what had happened.
- - -
Nanao sat staring blankly at the flickering shadows cast by the nearby lamp on the blank canvas of the white sheet. She was unable to sleep as the fact that the man she loved could have died earlier skipped continuously across her conscience.
Died thinking he was in your arms, Nanao thought. Died because you weren't there to help him…
Nanao now knew everything and was thoroughly wishing she didn't.
Okuni had woken up a few hours before; crying out as the pain medication wore off, leaving her to the burning sensation of her cramped muscles. Alarmed by her shouts, Nanao had fetched Hanatarō, who administered more painkillers. It was unfortunate that pills took about a half an hour to take full effect.
In an attempt both to fulfill her curiosity and to take her young friend's mind off of her soreness, Nanao asked Okuni to tell her what happened.
For the next half an hour Okuni spoke into the silence of the ward, keeping her voice low to avoid waking the others who were resting peacefully. She told of the student's inability to control their reiatsus, the battle that ensued, and the horrible moment when Shunsui had been injured and … mistook Okuni for Nanao.
Fingering the pendant at her throat, Nanao frowned. It bothered her that Hanatarō had claimed that Shunsui probably had a concussion. Do concussions usually cause people to see things?
Lost in her thoughts, Nanao jumped when she heard the rustle of fabric right beside her. Expecting to see the young healer checking in, she was surprised to see Ukitake Taichō sink slowly into the chair next to her.
"Ukitake Taichō," Nanao exclaimed. "You shouldn't be up!"
He chuckled weakly. "It's alright, Ise-san. I felt slightly better today."
Nanao looked over at him. He did look better. In fact, he looked as if he could be in perfect health; well, as healthy as she had ever seen him. Then again, she thought as he coughed feebly into the handkerchief clasped in his hand, it could just be the lighting.
"Sir―" she began.
"Could you have remained in bed when you heard your best friend was seriously injured?" he interrupted her.
"No, I suppose not," Nanao murmured quietly after a few moments. "How is Kyōraku Taichō?"
Ukitake sighed. "As well as can be expected, I suppose. He's hasn't regained consciousness yet, but Retsu-san doesn't appear to be too worried. I trust her judgment."
Nanao wondered if he realized he'd just called Unohana Taichō something as informal as Retsu-san and more importantly, if the two were close enough that she allowed it.
"You should return to your quarters Ise-san," Ukitake said gently. "You don't look well." He took a deep breath and let out another small cough.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep, anyway," Nanao replied softly. "I can't… Just thinking about the fact that he almost…died…"
Ukitake covered her slender hand which was resting on the armrest of the chair and gave it a gentle squeeze. Nanao noticed after several minutes that he still hadn't released it.
Nanao, desperately in need of some comfort, made no move remove her hand from his warm grasp.
- - -
Nanao sighed as she completed another piece of paperwork. She rubbed her tired eyes and stretched her cramping fingers out in front of her, wincing as the knuckles cracked. Throwing the pen down, Nanao rose to her feet, gripping the desk as the room swayed slightly.
She hadn't eaten anything since the previous afternoon and it was approaching early evening. She also supposed her lightheadedness was not helped by the fact that she hadn't slept at all the night before. She had finally gone to Kyōraku Taichō's room in the Fourth Division, unable to go for any longer without seeing him.
He had regained consciousness three days ago, but Nanao couldn't find the courage to visit him when he was awake.
She had no idea what she should say to him or, what he would say to her.
So, she had sat and watched him sleep. The steady rise and fall of his chest was a familiar sight, one she had secretly enjoyed during her days in the Eighth Division, when he used to nap on the office couch as she completed the paperwork.
Okuni, who had been released the day after the battle, reportedly went to see him every day. Ukitake, who claimed to be feeling much better, also spent much of his time at the Fourth Division, returning each evening to eat dinner with his new Fukutaichō. In between coughs, which Nanao was grateful had subsided a good deal, he tried to convince her to visit Shunsui, as he kept asking about 'his lovely Nanao-chan.'
Matsumoto stopped by at the end of the second day, to tell Nanao of her own interesting meeting with her favorite drinking partner. She said that Shunsui had been adamant that he had seen Nanao at the battle. Apparently, Matsumoto had spent the better part of an hour trying to convince him that Nanao had been safely cooped up inside the Thirteen Division at the time. The busty Fukutaichō believed that Shunsui had still looked rather unconvinced at the end of their argument which had been put to rest by a very pensive Ukitake Taichō who had excused himself a few minutes later.
Nanao wondered when she'd become such a coward. It was only Kyōraku Taichō. The same man she'd worked for over a hundred years, the first man ever to give her a flower. It was the same man who had pushed her up against a wall and kissed her senseless, whose reiatsu had ignited such a longing within her. The same man who had told her he loved her, and she rejected him…
Nanao slammed a hand down on the desk in frustration as tears welled in her eyes, his voice echoing across her brain.
What do you want Nanao?
What a work of art you are, Nanao Ise…
You're young and I'm in love…
Why is it so hard to accept that I'm in love with you?
We are inevitable…
She let out a strangled sob, as her poorly-restrained reiatsu flared around her.
Why is it so hard to accept that I'm in love with you?
The papers on the desk where whisked off her desk in a whirlwind of energy as her restraint snapped. She sank to floor on all fours, fighting for control. The lamp was knocked off of the desk, the glass cover splintering on the floor, the flame sputtering and dying in her spiritual storm.
She was too exhausted to fight. She felt dizzy, she was drowning as her power took over her, unchecked…
"Ise-san!"
Suddenly, she saw a flash of white and she was being lifted. She felt another reiatsu push against hers firmly, trying to drive her energy back to a safe level.
Finally, after what seemed like lifetimes, Nanao was able to withdraw her power back into herself.
Gasping for breath, she opened her eyes to find herself clasped in Ukitake's arms. He carried her through the door at the far end of the office which led to his adjoining quarters. He lowered himself onto the large bed, still cradling Nanao in his arms.
"Ise-san…"
"I'm sorry," Nanao breathed, fighting to calm herself. "I haven't lost control that badly since I was a small child."
Ukitake frowned. "I didn't know you had problems controlling your reiatsu. Shunsui never mentioned it."
"That's because he's never seen it." Nanao began struggling to remove herself from Ukitake's clutches. She stopped moving as the room took a nasty turn, causing her head to pound.
"I used to cause small tornados when I was very young. Whenever I was exhausted or incredibly upset, my reiatsu would respond to my strong flares of emotion, as reiatsus usually do, but I couldn't control mine. I eventually learned to contain it. When I first entered the academy, they told me that it was a typical trademark of the kidō adept."
"Is that why you wear glasses?" Ukitake asked, gazing down at Nanao.
"Partly," she replied. "I do need them for reading. But, yes, when I was still learning how to control myself, they prevented me from releasing a concentrated reiatsu from my eyes."
"Ah, so that's why everyone is so afraid of you removing them," Ukitake grinned slightly. "Ise-san," he asked, smile fading. "What was it that upset you so much you lost control?"
"It was nothing, I'm just tired," she said quickly.
"I don't think it was nothing, Ise-san―" he protested, but Nanao was ignoring him, attempting to sit up again. It proved to be a difficult task as Ukitake was still holding her against him, afraid she was either about to pass out, which looked probable, or lose control again.
Nanao had just struggled into a sitting position, her hands fisted in his captain's haori for support; his arms preventing her from toppling off her precarious position on his lap, when the door to Ukitake's quarters slid open.
"Nanao, Kyōraku Taichō asked me to deliver this to you―" Okuni, her arms full of flowers, stopped dead on the threshold. Her eyes widened as they fell upon Nanao and Ukitake in an apparent embrace on the bed.
"Nanao, how could you?" the brunette said, an expression of disbelief and disgust on her face.
Nanao clambered off of Ukitake's lap. "Okuni, wait!" she cried. "It's not what you think―"
But it was too late; the petite girl had already bolted, leaving the bouquet of flowers, half-trampled in her wake.
Both Nanao and Ukitake watched in a haze of shock as the petite silhouette rapidly faded into the distance, heading straight for the Fourth Division.
On the floor next to the smashed petals, a small white card lay. Nanao stumbled over to pick it up, letting out a hollow, laugh. In the fading light of the day, the words shone mockingly up at her, a perfect overture to the great misunderstanding bound to follow.
I am sorely missing my Nanao-chan― Your ever-faithful, Shunsui.
A/N: Another chapter finished…I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Review! Or I will have Hanatarō attack you with Hisagomaru …when the gauge is full!