Disclaimer: KTNM
Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews and patience. Here is the finale to The Babysitters Club. Enjoy.
The Babysitters Club
Chapter 7: Epilogue
It had been a long day and Nanao wanted nothing more than to have a nice quiet dinner, get a little bit of paperwork done, and sleep. She returned home to her tidy quiet apartment, threw the paperwork she brought home with her worktable, set the bento box she bought on her way home on the dining table and plopped down on the chair rather unceremoniously in exhaustion. Lifting her glasses, she rubbed one eye slightly.
"I guess I better eat something before I pass out," she sighed to herself, lifting the cover off the plastic tray. She pulled the wooden chopstick out of its paper wrapper and was about to split her chopsticks when the doorbell rang, thus causing her to break her concentration, and resulting in unevenly split chopsticks. Frowning in annoyance at the lack of symmetry, she set the imperfect wooden utensils on the wrapper and stood up to answer the door.
"Who is it?" she called.
Getting no answer, she stood up and walked to the door. Lifting a small black piece of wood on the door; she peered through the peephole, only to discover much to her surprise, that there was no one at the door.
"Was I dreaming?" she thought. "Must have been my imagination."
Nanao shrugged and returned to her dinner. She started eating the stir-fried vegetables, but curiosity got the better of her and she ended up walking back to the door. Luckily, or unluckily, just as she was about to open the door, the doorbell rang once again. This time, she opened it right away, and saw a flash of black run away. Reacting more out of instinct, rather than pure malice, she quickly focused her reiatsu.
"Bakudou no ichi, SAI (Binding Art #1, Obstruction)!" she shouted, chasing after it into the street. Whoever or whatever it was managed to break free and was thus rewarded with the start of an angry, "Bakudou no roku-juu-ichi (Binding Art #61-for those of you who don't know what this is, this is what Byakuya used on Renji when Renji finally mastered his bankai for the first time when they were saving Rukia. Google it if you still don't know.)—"
"Nanao-chan!" shouted a panicked voice. "STOP!"
"Taichou?!" Nanao cried, mid-incantation.
"Jesus! Call it off!" shouted Shunsui, from above, perched on the top of the roof, waving his arms madly at her.
"What? Why?!" she cried angrily, dispelling it.
"Geez, I never expected you to go so far as to use bakudou no roku-juu-ichi—"
"What did you expect?!" she demanded, cutting it off. "There was something ringing my doorbell. And it ran, so I assumed—"
"Nanao-chan," her taichou sighed. "What am I going to do with you…"
"That's my line. What is the meaning of this?"
"Well," Shunsui started. "You see—"
"Kyouraku-taichou, did she actually get him?" called an excited singsong voice also from above.
"Matsumoto-fukutaichou, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Nanao, recognizing the all too familiar voice.
The pink haori-wearing taichou and his accomplice jumped down to the ground to where Nanao was.
"She totally tried to get him didn't she?" Matsumoto said, adjusting her bust and flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Shunsui sighed, took off his straw hat, pulled out five bills and reluctantly handed them over to Matsumoto.
"Matsumoto!" shouted a voice. "I'll be taking two of those!"
"Ikkaku! No fair," exclaimed Matsumoto.
"NO FAIR?! Matsumoto, you wanna talk about no fair?" shouted Ikkaku. "You almost got me killed!"
"But you said you'd do it!" protested Matsumoto, trying to grab the money back from her bald friend.
"Only because, YOU and her frickin' taichou said she wasn't gonna do nothing!" Ikkaku said, pointing a finger accusingly at Shunsui.
"I said she probably wouldn't try anything," said Shunsui defensively.
"You said it was safe!"
"Hey, give me back my money—"
"Butt out, Matsumoto!" shouted Ikkaku. "You," he yelled, clearly talking to the hay chewing taichou. "Your fukutaichou almost ran a bakudou, and roku-juu-ichi (61), nonetheless, through me!"
"I didn't think she would—"
"Ahem," said Nanao, trying to get a word in.
"Hey! Give that back, Matsumoto!"
"No, I won the money fair and square—"
"No frickin' way!"
"Excuse me—" started Nanao.
"Well, you could always give it back to me—" suggested Shunsui.
"NO!" the other two shouted.
"Well, if you can't decide, I was merely suggesting—"
"No, you lost fair and square, Kyouraku-taichou—"
"Matsumoto, give me that—"
"HEY!" shouted Nanao, using her shunpo, snatching the money and the blade of grass hanging out of her taichou's mouth, resulting in a temporary time out on the war. "Will someone please explain what's going on?!"
When no one offered an explanation, Nanao, glared dangerously at Shunsui.
"Well, you see, Nanao-chan," began Shunsui nervously. "Matsumoto dared Ikkaku to go and ring your doorbell, as a joke. And well, I bet that you would just ignore the prank. Matsumoto bet that you would try to attack Ikkaku. And um, we didn't expect you to actually come out and chase after him, much less try to attack him with a bakudou."
"Especially not with roku-juu-ichi," Matsumoto pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Yeah," Shunsui said looking away. "We thought you would give up after bakudou no ichi."
"Geez, does your fukutaichou always attack with roku-juu-ichi instinctively?" asked Ikkaku, with one eye opened as he scratched the nape of his neck.
"Well, no. Usually she just ignores this kind of thing. This is actually the first time—"
"I'm tired," said Nanao, turning around. "I don't have the patience for this kind of nonsense now. I'm going home.
"Hey, what about the money?" asked Matsumoto.
"And my grass?" chimed in Shunsui.
"Well, you didn't get your money's worth. I didn't actually hit Madarame-san. So since you both were technically wrong, AND since you bet on me like some horse or stupid sports team, I'll be taking this."
"Nanao-chan, what about my blade of grass?"
"It's made you look sloppy and unkempt, so I threw it on the ground," Nanao said, before using her shunpo to return to her apartment.
"And it was a good blade too. Not poisonous…" sighed Shunsui.
"And I thought I finally was going to get something for taking the high risk bet," sighed Matsumoto.
"Does any one care that she almost ran six pillars of reiatsu with the capability to crush bones through me?" asked Ikkaku.
"Nope…"
"Not really…"
"Wanna go drinking?"
"The usual?"
"Ikkaku, let's go. It's Kyouraku-taichou's treat!"
"What?! I never said that!"
"But we're celebrating you being acquitted of all charges!"
"Oh, yeah, that's right! LET'S GO THEN!" shouted Shunsui. "I'll go get Ukitake!"
"Yay! Last one there's a rotten egg!"
"God, wherever did you learn that, Matsumoto?!"
"From Orihime-chan, why?"
"No wonder. Never mind."
Meanwhile…
Nanao had given up on eating. Her food was dry and cold, no thanks to those doorbell-ringing pranksters. She decided to take a bath and attempt to get some paperwork that was neglected due to their court appearance.
"So much drama in this bantai," she sighed, as she made her way to the bathroom, setting her glasses and her hair pin on the table on her way there.
"First, he gets himself charged with rape," she mumbled to herself, forcing the faucet to splash hot water into the shower.
"Then we have to appear in court practically the next day—" Nanao said, slamming her uniform into the basket next to the door.
"Hitsugaya-taichou is the judge, the jury is made up of fukutaichou, one of the witnesses dies, Zaraki-taichou destroys the courtroom and takes one of the victims with him, Kurotsuchi-taichou is still upset about the lab accident, in the end, that stupid taichou gets acquitted of all charges. The absurdity of it all! And of all the dumb luck—" she cried, stepping into the steaming shower, gagging slightly as she swallowed some water mid-rant.
"Why?! Why me?!" she groaned miserably, beginning the meticulous ritual of washing her hair and lathering every inch of her body in vanilla scented soap. "Fate must really hate me..."
Then Hitsugaya's fateful words came back to her.
"Kyouraku-taichou, in exchange for being acquitted of all charges, must be under the supervision of Ise-fukutaichou...in the spare room in Ise-fukutaichou's apartment..."
Nanao shuddered and placed one palm to support herself against the shower wall as she watched the soap suds spiral down the drain.
"Why do I continue to torture myself?" she wondered, turning the water off and squeezing out some of the excess water from her hair. "I must be crazy..."
Nanao picked up her towel, and dried herself off and went in search of her pajamas. While she actually was not planning on going to sleep, she thought she should at least get some paperwork done before turning in for the night.
The serious fukutaichou put her glasses back on, everything came back into focus, and made her way to her worktable. She pulled out one of the cushions under the table and sat down quietly. In front of her lay an enormous stack of paperwork and reports. Sighing, she began sorting the mountain into piles to make them easier to work with.
She must have been more tired than she thought because that was the last thing she remembered doing. When she came to, she found herself sprawled on the floor, a few reports in her left hand and half under the table.
"When did I fall asleep? What time is it?" she thought, looking for her clock. "11:15? Already? God, and I have a meeting first thing tomorrow too..."
She scooted out from under the table and sat up. Her body cracked angrily at having been left in such an odd position for a prolonged period of time.
"Guess I'll be waking up early tomorrow to prep," she murmured, sighing in frustration of not being able to finish all she had hoped to. "I think his laziness is starting to rub off on me..."
Nanao then turned off the lamp on her worktable, pushed it flush against the wall and began laying out her bedding. When she had smoothed out the covers so that not a single wrinkle remained, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Nanao tucked herself into bed, picking up a book she read every night in order to wind down.
"Let's see what '1000 Interesting Things about Humans and the Human World' has to say today," she mumbled to herself, turning to where she had marked it last.
"Alcoholic beverages have all 13 minerals necessary for human life," she read aloud. "Kyouraku-taichou would be pleased to know that. He'd probably argue that he must therefore be the healthiest one alive. Sheesh. These humans sure do research on the weirdest things..." she thought as she removed her glasses, folding them and putting them on top of the book next to her futon as she dozed off.
Nanao managed to get several hours of sleep before the sound of her door opening and the sound of not-so-quiet whispers echoing through her apartment woke her from her peaceful slumber.
"Shh. Okay, you've seen it. This is where I have to stay, now let's go!" Shunsui whispered to his companion. "Come on."
Nanao opened one eye groggily. "That better not be who I think it is..."
"What? You want to see the rest of the apartment? No, I don't think that would be a good idea. Listen, if Nanao-chan wakes up, she's gonna be really pissed. I'm telling you all hell's gonna break loose. What? No, she's not my wife. I am not whipped. No, I just gotta stay here so that I'll be acquitted—No, she's not my girlfriend! She's my fukutaichou. C'mon don't be like that. Okay, okay, if you promise to be quiet, I'll show you. She's not my type. Okay? All right."
There was shuffling and bumping echoing down the hall. Nanao tried to ignore it, deciding that waking up was too much trouble.
"Okay, here's the bathroom. Yes. No, I don't peek while she's taking a shower. I just got here. Tonight's my first night. Besides, do you know what would happen if I got caught? You don't wanna know. Anyway, this is probably my room. And here's Nanao-chan's room. And this is angry Nanao-chan, angry Nanao-chan?!"
A drunken Shunsui had mistakenly opened the door to reveal an extremely pissed Nanao.
"TAICHOU!" she yelled, shoving him out into the living room, turning on the lights.
"Nanao-chan, what a surprise—"
"I LIVE HERE!"
"Uh, um—"
"Do you have any idea what time it is?! It's ONE in the morning. I have a meeting tomorrow and I have to wake up early to prep for it. You were supposed to be home by 11!"
"But, Nanao-chan! No, she's not my wife!" shouted Shunsui first to Nanao, then to Nanao's potted plant.
"Who are you talking to anyway?!" demanded Nanao.
"My imaginary friend."
"Imaginary friend?"
"Nanao-chan, this is Maririn!" Shunsui said proudly, swaying a bit as he gestured to no one in particular, but what looked from Nanao's perspective that he was talking to her house plant.
"Maririn?" Nanao said, with one eyebrow cocked, as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Yes, well, we met at the bar. And we have so much in common. And well, she just insisted on coming home with me—"
"Taichou, let me make one thing clear," she said in a dangerously low voice. "This is my apartment. You have to live here for the next three months. While you live here, you will abide by my rules. First, you will not bring back anyone back to this apartment without my permission, especially no one female by the name Maririn."
"She's over here," Shunsui said, pointing in the opposite direction that Nanao was facing.
"I don't care! Second, you will be back by 10—"
"What?! But the—"
"I know what the court says, but you also owe me community service. And if you want to be let in, you will come back before 10. I wake up early, so you will do your community service when you come home. Third and fourth, no alcohol or smoking in my apartment. You will not come back drunk or I will not let you in—"
"Come on, Nanao-chan—"
"No, unless you don't mind sleeping outside on the veranda—"
"But, it's gonna be winter—"
"I know. Take it or leave it."
"You know I have to abide by the courts," he whined.
"I know."
"What about Ukitake?"
"He can visit during the day. Now, Maririn, you need to leave," Nanao said walking over to the door, holding it open expectantly.
"Okay, you heard her," Shunsui said to what looked to be Nanao's chair.
"NOW!"
"Go, before she kills you!"
"Is she gone?"
"Yes," sighed Shunsui.
"Good, now go take a shower. You smell like cigarettes and alcohol—"
"But I don't have any soap or towels—"
"There are towels and soap in the bathroom."
"What about—"
"Your room is ready. I'm tired. I have a meeting first thing in the morning, so I need to sleep. Now, get in the shower!"
Shunsui nodded meekly fearful of his angry fukutaichou, shuffling to the bathroom and closing the door quietly.
"This is going to be a long three months, isn't it?" Nanao thought as she climbed back into her futon, rubbing her temples. "Fate, why do you hate me so?"
---End---
Thank you for reading, please review and tell me what you thought of this story. This was a really fun story to write. This two are my favorite pair. They just make me laugh. I am planning a sequel and the follow-up alternate ending for this story. The sequel will most likely be called "Living with Nanao-chan" and will focus on the 3 month period of random chaos that will ensue as they live together. I'm still planning out the alternate ending. But, first, I must finish my other stories, especially my HitsuMatsu and Ouran one. As soon as I'm done with those, I will work on the sequels.
As a side note, you can find information about my plans in terms of stories and plot on my profile page. I usually reflect and write supplementary comments on that page.
O-tsukare-sama!
Mayonaka no Taiyou