Epic Five: The Wheels Begin Turning
She was running down the gravel street, her slightly too-big, dusty yukata fluttering as she went. Nanao didn't have a destination in mind, but stray children in Rukongai seldom ever did unless it was to find a necessity. She was alone, like she was often, so she wasn't bothered by it. The day had gone by normally so far, and she was grateful.
That was all about to change though, as a fist-sized rock found its way into the small girl's path. She was clutching to her yukata to keep it from slipping while running, so she didn't get a chance to see the intrusion to her space.
Her foot connected with the offending object in the next moment, and with a whoosh of air she found herself kissing the dirt, a cloud forming around her. It was a good thing that no one was traveling along the same path as her today, for they might've trampled her, but it was even better that no one was witness to the embarrassing trip.
At least, this is what Nanao thought until she heard a scuffling of feet coming from behind her and a small shadow looming over her.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Nanao looked up from her daze to look into a pair of vibrant blue eyes. For a minute she said nothing nor moved any part of her. She was a bit stunned to see someone there.
The questioning girl held out a hand to help her up, and Nanao accepted it warily. She could've sworn that no one was there moments before. It didn't matter much however, as she was kind enough to stop and help her up.
Once she was fully standing, Nanao pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and took a closer look at the good Samaritan. She didn't seem much older than herself now that she look time to notice, and like the rest of those that scrounged in Rukongai, her garb was similar to Nanao's own dusty grey yukata.
Her helper's hair was lighter than her own, a shade of brown that was like light amber. At first glance she seemed just ordinary, but her eyes seemed to give her a light that reminded Nanao of intense fire.
"I'm Rosemay, but they call me Rose for short! What's your name?"
She seemed cheery enough, Nanao noted. Especially since this wasn't the nicest of districts. It was hard to believe that anyone could still be smiling in these parts. It made her wonder how mature this Rosemay really was. Nanao knew that she shouldn't expect much from a child their age, but when Nanao had learned the lesson of experience long ago, she cast away most of her childhood tendencies.
Still, she found herself answering.
"My name is Nanao."
"Nana-chan! It's okay if I call you that, right? My family always used to give everyone nicknames. My Grandmother always said it makes you closer to them." Her eyes were big and bright as she clasped her hands together, waiting for Nanao to answer.
Despite herself and her dislike of people not calling her by her given name, she found herself nodding in approval anyway. Why she did so, she wouldn't be able to tell you. It must've been the warm personality radiating from her. There was so little of it in Nanao's life up to this point that she couldn't help but be drawn in like a moth to the flame.
She wondered briefly how the girl was able to remember her past life so vividly when she herself couldn't remember hardly anything at all. She thought that maybe she was talking about her adopted family here in Rukongai, but she would come to find out later that she was an orphan, just like Nanao.
"Nana-chan, let's be friends."
The words were still ringing in her ears as Nanao rose from the fitful slumber. She rubbed her eyes, faintly wondering why her distant memories were choosing now to come back to her, of her life before coming to the Eighth. It had been so long ago that without realizing what Yachiru had come to call her, she wasn't sure if she would've remembered at all. That part was a chapter of her life she didn't like to think about.
She shuddered lightly, and looked for the cause of her shiver, the source of the draft. Seeing her window open, she arose from her covers, grabbed her glasses from her nightstand, and padded softly over to it. Sure enough, the curtains flapped gently with the small but steady stream of air that blew through the open space. She moved them to the sides, a thoughtful look upon her face.
Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure if she left the window open or not. At this time of year, the obvious answer would be no, for the nights were more chilled as the months passed on. However, she did enjoy the afternoon breeze, and could be found guilty of sometimes sitting near the window while reading and relaxing. Yesterday wasn't one of her days off though, so she would've had no reason to open it. She must've left it open. She couldn't find another excuse for it.
The morning was still besides the breeze, and Nanao found a moment's peace looking at the rising sun. Her internal clock was set too early for her own good. She was somewhat glad this morning though, as the cool air would've chilled the whole place if it was left unattended for much longer. It already had all night by the looks of it.
She reached over to slide the window down when a flash of color attracted her gaze. She paused with her hands on the frame, slowly lowering them to pick up the foreign object. By the looks of the light violet petals, it seemed that a lavender had been set on her window frame. She withdrew from the window and examined it further. Those were out of season by now, and if she wasn't mistaken, this type of flower meant 'distrust'.
What an odd thing to leave for someone.
At least, that's what she assumed. She didn't recall getting any flowers on the previous day, so it had to come from someone else. Her first thoughts were her own captain, but the meaning behind the bloom was concise with the situation. She was fairly sure that he trusted her for the most part, and to her, he just seemed the type of person that would look into small details like flower meanings.
She set the plant back on it's previous ledge and finished the first task she set out to do. When the window was shut, she pulled the drapes closed once again and picked up her latest 'gift', walking with it into her kitchen.
Regardless of who sent it or what it meant, she still found it pretty to look at, so she fished a small empty vase out from one of her cabinets and filled it with water to set on the counter. It seemed to brighten up her dull space, so she opted to keep it until it finally wilted. Some would say that it was foolish to do so, but she couldn't detect anything wrong with it.
Besides, it's beauty took away the sinking feeling she got when she realized that someone had probably entered her room without her consent.
With her new decoration in place, she set water to boil for her morning tea. So long as nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she was going to go about her day as she would normally, strange gifts received or not. Once it was ready, she sat down for a minute to think on what she would have to do for the day.
She mentally groaned when she realized that the deadline for the semi-annual reports was coming up in the next few days. Complied with inspections coming up and the Eighth's patrol duty this week, she wasn't sure when she was going to find time to get it all done. As promised yesterday, she did leave the office at her designated time. Captain Kyouraku had not come back in, nor did he give her a visit, so she thought that her actions were deemed satisfactory by him.
That was, if he even remembered.
If she was lucky, she could get him to help out a little more with paperwork. Unfortunately for her, it was likely that he understood all the hassle and stress that went into these specific reports. He would probably try to weasel his way out of doing any work whatsoever by any means possible. She signed out loud. Some days it was like dealing with a stubborn child. At times it was hard to believe he really was a captain of the Gotei.
She had two ways of trying to persuade him to her side, and those were either plead, which she wasn't too keen on doing, or compromise. The only problem with solution number two was that she was running out of sake to commandeer from his hiding places. All of her compromises were usually made with holding something against him, seeing how she really couldn't do anything else to him.
With another sigh, she rose from her seat and began getting ready for the day. It could be a long one after all.
--Secrets Of The Scorned--
The two heads of the Tenth Division paced down the narrow hall, just coming back from making rounds. Unlike the Eighth, they believed that by seeing both captain and lieutenant making the effort to check up on others, they would be more motivated to improve. Then again, Nanao probably never had much of a chance with all the work she had to do.
As for them, Toshiro was convinced that the only reason Rangiku was so in favor of the event because it offered her a viable excuse to get out of doing her work. It also have her plenty of opportunity to sneak off, even while under his watchful eyes.
Walking next to him, the said lieutenant was cheerfully jabbering away. Most of this he tried to tune out. Even though it was afternoon, it was far too early for him to filter through the massive amount of information she tried to convey in so little time. It was like a constant buzz in his ear, and if he were still young he might've attempted to swat away the bees that sounded like they were nearby.
Still, he was a bit obligated to listen to her somewhat. If she did say something that crossed the threshold of slightly important, he supposed he would have to take note of it. However, if she kept going on any longer about what she was going to get when she next went to the world of the living, he was going to make sure she stayed home-bound for at least a few months.
He was a bit glad to see her in her naturally bubbly state anyway. It was much better than the version he saw yesterday morning. By afternoon it seemed she was fine, true, but he couldn't really tell if it was strained or not. She was talking to Momo again though, so he hoped it was for the better permanently.
The scene he came upon yesterday confused him to no end. As far as he knew, those two had barely been on speaking terms with one another, let alone smiling and laughing together like old friends. He didn't know when that status had changed, but it wasn't totally undesirable. Still, he was still the odd one out. Even after Rangiku's smooth over yesterday, things were still rocky between them.
He knew that he had almost started a meltdown yesterday with his question, but it was something he was desperate to know. He had noticed that something had changed about her, but he didn't quite know what it was. This whole Aizen thing had affected her deeply he knew, but the last time he checked she was still pleading for him to be saved.
He shook his head to clear the dark cloud of negative thoughts that he wanted to brood on. He wouldn't think of that now. There was something different about Momo, he knew this too. That much was obvious. Whether it was good or bad, he didn't know. He decided that he was going to put an effort into figuring out what it was.
Rangiku was acting a bit suspicious with all the questions about Momo lately.
"So, have you found anything to report to Captain Soi Fon yet?"
His ears perked up at the mentioning of another captain. He looked at her after a moment, registering what she said into his mind. It was about time that she shifted to a topic he didn't have to ignore. She had gone from her loose, carefree attitude into a more solemn one. That, if anything else, also caught his attention.
He had mentioned his meeting with the Division Two Captain yesterday. It had only been a day, but last night he had accompanied a squad into the real world to get a look at things for himself. They were involved in many investigations also, so it seemed like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, like reported before, there was nothing to be found out of the ordinary.
"There was no trace of anything as of last night. It very much seems like they vanished into thin air. It's hard to believe, but until we uncover something else, I've no explanation for any of it."
She was thoughtful for a moment before answering him. No matter what some others thought, she was pretty bright. "It is strange that they just up and disappeared like that. Corp groups don't just do that, or at least they never used to. It's not like Second hasn't got enough things to worry about."
He nodded his head in agreement with her statement, knowing full well all the responsibilities that Second had taken on in the last few months. Not only were they leading searches for their missing members, they were also keeping an ear and an eye out for any movement from Aizen. Added to that was the investigations of the increased hollow problem in both Rukongai and the real world.
"Do you think that the hollows in Rukongai are linked to the squad?" It was a fair question to ask, and it was also one that he had asked himself many times before.
"It's possible but unlikely that the two are linked. There was already more hollows appearing in Rukongai before the squad disappeared." She nodded back at him, a serious look upon her face. He was glad he could count on her in matters like this, even if she didn't come across as serious at first glance. "It's more likely that the higher frequency has something to do with Aizen, although the same could be said for the squad. I think others are trying to stay away from that possibility though. I can't think of a reason why he'd want them, seeing how he was building his own perfect army as it was."
"Did he just hunt them down then? Assuming the squad is still linked to Aizen. Would he bother trying to take out small squads at once? We haven't seen any movements from him in a long time. I can't really believe that his plan would be to try and take us out in small amounts when he has to be building an army for a reason."
True, the whole situation seemed doubtful. Still, they couldn't ignore any of the possibilities at a time like this.
"It would seem rather inefficient for someone like him. There isn't many other explanations for what's been going on though."
Rangiku put her hand on her chin as she walked, thinking once again. "So, basically all we've got is a bunch of questions and no answers. Not very bright of an outlook, is it?"
It was rhetorical, but he silently shook his head anyway.
He delved into deep thought after that, his brilliant mind spinning with all the different outcomes that could be. There were too many things happening at once for it all to be a coincidence, he thought. There was a link somewhere, although it may take a bit of digging around to find it. He hoped that someone would think of it soon. He knew there were many that were trying, including himself.
He was so wrapped up in the intensity of his own thoughts that he was subconsciously making the turn in the hallway that he knew was there. However, a psychic he was not, so there wasn't any way of knowing that someone was making the same trek from the opposite side of the wall. If he had been in a more alert state, he may have noticed the dull spiritual pressure that was coming from the source, or even the soft humming noise that was drifting through the air.
Unfortunately for the two, this was not the case.
There was the sound of crinkling papers rustling into the air and the slight puff of released air from a collision and the uncomfortable feeling of something interrupting one's inertia. Then, there was a soft exclamation of surprise from the object he ran into and the sense of that same object falling away rapidly. On a reflex, Toshiro automatically reached out to latch onto the falling person, he concluded, as he seemed to grip cloth, and drew them towards himself trying to find a better balance. Seeing how they were slightly smaller than he was, this wasn't much of a problem.
Luckily he was able to keep his balance and also steady the other shinigami's. He faintly heard Rangiku's surprised 'oh' and wanted to roll his eyes. He may have been out of it, but that didn't mean she had to be too. It figured.
The ruffling of papers seemed to die down after a few moments, and all he could hear was his own somewhat-heightened breathing being matched by another. He registered that his eyes were closed and when he opened them, he met a pair of equally surprised, but familiar charcoal orbs looking back at him.
Momo was slightly disoriented from whatever had just happened. One moment she was happily moving along with her papers, humming slightly. She had just finished another stack and was planning on delivering them to the appropriate divisions. The pile was quite large, so she was having trouble seeing, but she didn't expect to suddenly run into someone.
Once her stunned brain caught up to her, she would find out that yes, she was rather close to Toshiro and that he apparently just caught her from falling, their proximity a result.
Momo's papers had scattered, and not one remained left in her grasp. As she was falling, she also reached out, the reason behind why she was clutching to the front of his uniform. Now that she had assessed the situation, she did notice that he was practically holding her pressed up against him. It wasn't on purpose, but she found herself trying desperately to fight down the color from her face anyway.
Rangiku's comments from yesterday didn't help much either, not to mention her own personal thoughts on the issue.
Despite his frosty appearance, she couldn't help but notice that he wasn't cold at all. His arms around her were rather warm. It was either that, or the burning on her skin had more to do with the crimson color that threatened to appear on it. She also realized that she was slightly looking up at him. When had that happened?
They stared at each other for a few moments before an awkward cough from Rangiku broke them out of the trance they were locked in.
Toshiro came out of it first, his eyes widening a little at the whole thing. He let go of her abruptly, taking a hasty step back and almost losing his own balance in the process. It was completely out of character from his usual grace, but as it was, his senses just weren't working like they should've been that day.
He turned away slightly and coughed a little, the motion only serving to break the awkward silence that had descended upon them in the last few minutes. Toshiro was still turned away, fixing his eyes at some point in the distance, but Rangiku thought she saw him giving small glances every few seconds back at the bun-wearing girl.
Momo realized as soon as the comfortable warmth left what she had been doing prior to that. With a startled cry and widened eyes she began trying to gather the many documents that had been strewn about from the collision, forgetting all about the snowy haired captain and his lieutenant.
Her motions brought Toshiro's immediate attention back to the wooded walkway, and he automatically began helping gathering papers as well. It had been partly his fault. He was about to say something, but cut himself off as he heard Momo mumbling to herself.
"Oh, stupid, I should watch where I'm going. It's going to take me forever to sort these out again…"
She was crouched on the ground, picking up two stray sheets of document. She paused for a minute to distinguish between two sheets, looking at one then the other with a look of concentration on her face. She placed one in one pile on the ground and the other in a separate one next to it, deeming them two different topics. Looking over she saw her helper and spoke up in a voice meant for others to hear.
"Oh, Captain Hitsugaya, I'm so sorry, I-"
"Momo."
He cut her off, something he was doing a lot lately. For now, every time he heard the title that he previously swore to, he wanted to cringe. Something about it coming from her wasn't right. It might've been the way she said it, or maybe it was just he reminder of how they had grown apart that stung so much. He almost wished that…she would call him by his detested nickname again, as much as he was loathe to admit. At least then it would signify that something was back to normal.
"It is as much my fault as it is yours. I wasn't paying attention." Really, it should be some sort of crime that he was admitting all of this willingly. Sometimes he was as prideful as the dragon whose spirit he kept concealed as his ultimate weapon. Still, he wanted to see her smile like she used to.
Her face registered a little bit of shock as he admitted his own faults in the situation. She didn't have much time to dwell on the strange way he was behaving though, as he continued shortly after.
"Where were these going?"
Brought back to her original mission once again, she focused on the small stack of papers he was currently handing to her.
"Oh, they were going to a few different places. We've been rushing to catch up because of inspections, so there's been more than double the work for us to straighten out the division. I just finished this pile, so there were some going to Second, Ninth, Twelfth, and some to you, I think. They should all be filled out correctly, they just need a signature."
As she fell back into her working mode, she missed the look that crossed Toshiro's face. He realized that she really was working hard to get everything back in order. For a while, she had just fell apart and couldn't do anything. Last time he checked she was the same way. Seeing her like this was a little bit of a shock to him. It was good to see her moving forward though, instead of being stuck in the past.
He looked to his left from where he was kneeling on the ground to see Rangiku smirking at him. His eyebrow twitched. Was there something funny about the situation?
"Matsumoto…" It was a quiet warning or her to either help, or find some other way to be useful. Anything would've been better than her standing there looking like that.
"Oh! I just remembered that I agreed to meet Renji and Izuru today. Well, I better not be late, see you later!"
With a flash and a big grin she was gone, and Toshiro just looked blankly at the spot she had previously occupied and looked toward the direction she headed. Momo scratched the back of her head and had a puzzled look on her face as well.
"Umm, isn't Izuru on a mission in the world of the living? And I thought that Captain Kuchiki had Renji stuck in the office from something he did at the last get-together they had."
It wasn't directed to anyone in particular, but somewhere in the back of Toshiro's mind, he recalled hearing the same information somewhere. He wanted to sigh out loud. Rangiku had just successfully dismissed herself from doing paperwork for the rest of the day. He faintly wondered if she remembered that she had promised to get something done today on pain of being under office arrest much like Renji was.
A look of agitation must've crossed his face, for a giggle from the other hallway occupant had him snapping his head back in her direction. He couldn't see if she was smiling since she was looking the same way he had just been seconds ago, but he thought it was probably close.
"She hasn't changed much, has she?"
It wasn't really meant to be answered, more like another reminder of what she had missed, she thought. It felt like she had been gone a long time and she was just now coming home and getting to know everybody again. Sometimes she wished it was that easy. It would be nice to have a fresh start and a second chance.
This time he did sigh. "I guess not." He looked over towards where Rangiku went before looking back and starting to stand up. The rest of the papers had been gathered, they were just mixed up. "Come on, I'll help you sort those and deliver them. You were headed over to the Tenth anyway."
She looked up at the now standing captain, a little surprised, once again. He held out his hand to help her up, and she accepted it, a thanks on the tip of her tongue. "Thank you, Capt-"
"Toshiro."
The words were coming out of his mouth before he could stop them. 'Captain Hitsugaya' was starting to grate on his nerves, and he didn't know if he could take hearing another one coming from her. Strange, as he always insisted that she call him that before. It was funny how a conflict could make you see things in a different light.
Momo was confused, and it showed on her face. As she stood fully, she replied shakily. "What?"
"Something about the title sounds wrong. I guess we've known each other too long to stick to formalities. I know I used to insist before, but I guess it's not as important now."
Not as important as having things good between us, is what he wanted to say. Of course, being the person that he is, he left it unsaid. This lowering of his pride was worth it though, as he saw the small smile adorn her face afterwards.
"Okay."
The large pile of papers had been restacked on the ground, so he reached down and grabbed a good portion, leaving Momo with less to carry. He waited for her to gather the rest before heading off towards his division. If he had to work slowly to mend things, he thought it would be better than nothing.
After all, Captain Kyouraku, for all his uncaptain-ish manner most of the time, actually had pretty good advice.
Upon their departure from the Eighth Division yesterday, the haori-wearing man had managed to get half a story out of the younger captain. Toshiro had told him that he was worried about Momo and wondered how things could be somewhat fixed between them, save solving all this Aizen business. That was going to be too long of a wait.
The white-haired captain was a little stunned to hear that Captain Kyouraku had noticed things changing with Momo before he did. Apparently Nanao had too, as he revealed that some of the information had come from her as well. Despite that setback, Shunsui had encouraged him to give her another chance. Even if things hadn't gone well in the past, he said that everyone deserves another chance to redeem themselves for things they did.
Toshiro wondered if the older man would be willing to give Aizen the same chance if he had done to Nanao what he did to Momo. Somehow, he thought that Shunsui would have a change of heart then. Still, it was pretty decent advice.
Wasn't that what he was doing then? Giving her a chance?
It was clear now that she had changed in some way, even though Toshiro didn't know how far that change went exactly. For now, it was the best he could do. Things were looking pretty positive from his perspective. Looking over at the person walking beside him, he thought that maybe he was really seeing her for the first time now. She wasn't the annoying little girl he used to live with, and she wasn't the heart broken lieutenant clinging to the illusions of a perfect captain. Both of these were how he previously saw her. Now she was just…Momo.
He found he was happy with that.
--Secrets Of The Scorned--
"Captain, please." Her voice was exasperated, much like her deteriorating mood. "There is far too much work that needs to be done and the deadline happens to be tomorrow. Unless you are volunteering yourself to help out with it, can you please stop trying to distract me?"
She was close to pleading with him, as told from her voice inflexions, if it would only buy her enough time to get all this work done. It was hard enough for her to focus on her work while he was around, but now that he was openly trying to get her attention it was down right impossible.
She was already going to have to make it a long night to get everything done on time as it was. She had already given up on any hope that her captain would help lessen her load, even though half of it was technically his. No, he would rather lay over there asking her questions than get up and actually do division work like he was supposed to.
This is what she got for working in the Eighth. Maybe she should transfer. She bet that Captain Ukitake did his own paperwork.
"You're not going to chase me around and demand I do it?"
He had the nerve to pout, she noticed, as she fixed him with a level stare. She wanted to roll her eyes at his hopeful look. It was almost as if he enjoyed their phases of seek and be sought. She supposed he did for the most part. He probably saw it as a way to flirt with her.
"I do not chase, Captain Kyouraku, merely pursue. At any rate, I do not have enough time for such things today. It's already going to be a late night. Now if you'll excuse me."
"But my Nanao-chan works too hard…"
"No buts. And I am not your Nanao-chan. It's going to take me until late to complete all of this. Unless you are offering?" She raised her brow as she looked at him, holding out a small portion of the stack before her. He made no motion to get up and retrieve it, so she released it back to its former position.
"I didn't think so." She dropped her pen for a minute to rub at her throbbing temples. She couldn't afford many more distractions today. She added something next with a half chuckle, sounding a bit dry. She supposed that was due to her own subtle sense of humor. "I'd offer to make a deal with you, but I'm running out of things to bribe you with."
After, she went back to scribbling away with no further disruptions from the other occupant in the room. Why couldn't these forms have a more realistic due date? It made no sense.
Shunsui watched her work from the corner of the room. True, he had been bothering her a bit earlier on, but he didn't think he was disrupting her too much. It was only mid afternoon, after all. Still, from the look of the crease on her brow as she worked, he could tell that she wasn't pleased.
He knew all about this certain group of forms she was working on. It was the same every year. She would more than likely stay up until some unimaginable hour getting everything done, and then everything would be fine once inspections were past. He didn't really understand why everyone made such a fuss over them. The selected group always found something to nitpick about in every division, so it didn't matter how ready you were. There was always something they found wrong.
He had hoped to lighten the mood a bit by asking Nanao some questions he thought of. Most of them were just simple things he wanted to find out, like what her favorite color was (blue, coincidently the same as his) or her favorite flowers (tulips, coincidently once again some of his favorites). That didn't get him far though.
So she thought he had to be bribed to do work did she? Well, he thought that he disproved that the other day, but perhaps she thought he only did the small mountain of paperwork because she removed some of his sake. Frankly, he could go out and get more if it meant that much to him. He didn't know if she realized this, but knowing his intelligent Nanao-chan, she probably did. He really wondered if she got the underlying message in his actions.
That got him thinking about Nanao's life in general. Was she always like she was around him?
He didn't think so, but for the life of him he couldn't get her to share the other half of her he knew to be hiding away. There were moments he got close, like just now, when she was riled up. She seemed to be brought to life with an intense fire when she was really into an argument with him. It was nice seeing a little color on her face and watching her become un-composed.
He truly didn't like bickering with her for the most part. Usually it was just information he already knew or knew he should be doing. It was more to ruffle her feathers a bit. He liked the more animated side of Nanao. It was as close as he got to seeing the real her. He wouldn't ever tell her that was the reason though. She could just continue to think that he was lazy and irresponsible. That way, everybody wins.
Or at least he did, for the most part.
He would like to see her behind closed doors just once, just to see what she was really like. He also made an effort to get her to do things with him. Besides Rangiku, he didn't really know if she spent a lot of time out of the office doing other things besides work. That would be a sad life. He didn't want that for his Nanao.
"Nanao-chan," He watched her pen stop and her eyes close for a moment. He imagined her counting to ten in her mind so she didn't explode on him. He knew he might be pushing the envelope a little far, but for once this was a very sincere question that came to mind. She must've noticed his slightly more serious tone because she looked over at him. He couldn't see any visible marks of irritation.
"What do you want out of life?"
He watched her attempt to speak, then suddenly stop. Whenever she faulted, he knew it either meant she was flustered or didn't know what to say. In this situation, he was betting on the latter. He watched as she composed herself soon after and had a look on her face that revealed deep thought. It took her a long time to respond, but her answer didn't really surprise him.
"I…don't really know." She looked lost at that moment, and Shunsui swore he saw the strict hardness of her eyes soften just a bit, like she was thinking of something important to her. He chuckled lightly, causing her to filter out of her memories to look at him once again.
"I don't think many people really do."
He left it at that, and neither one thought to bring up the subject again. Nanao set it aside for something to think about later. It was actually a very deep question that she wouldn't be able to answer with the deep volumes of knowledge locked inside her mind. It was personal, and although she made it a point to not answer many of those types that came from him (except those that aren't so important, such as her favorite color), it was something she was also curious about. Maybe one day she would ask him the same thing, even though she doubted he would be serious about his answer.
"Hey, Nanao-chan," He watched her stop again, and this time she didn't even bother to hide her look of exasperation.
"Captain, with all due respect, what?" He saw her finger twitch, and if he wasn't mistaken, they were inching towards the inkwell. Hoping to save himself a little bit, he attempted to placate her.
"Easy, Nanao-chan. Just one more. I promise."
She raised a doubtful brow, but she relaxed slightly in her chair anyway. The hand that had been creeping reached up to adjust the glasses on the bridge of her nose and afterward came down to rest with her other one on top of the stack in front of her, giving him her full attention.
She sighed. "Alright. After this I don't want to hear a peep unless you're inquiring about which documents I would like you to do."
He mentally laughed about the topic he was thinking on, seeing it more true as time wore on. It was always indirectly, he noticed, but never outright. He wondered if it would mean a lowering of her pride if she just asked him blankly.
"You mention deals and bribery to get me to do the work you are so ever splendid at, but have you ever thought about just asking me to do it?"
She rolled her eyes, despite how unprofessional it was. "If only it was that easy."
She looked away, reaching for a sheet of paper near the corner of her desk while glancing at a form in front of her. She felt a warm pressure on it before she could grab the next sheet, and it caused her to look up.
She met steady amber as she did so, and when she peered down, she found that her captain's hand over hers had stopped her. He was rather close, she noticed, and he had moved so fast. She didn't even feel a shift in the room until he made direct contact with her. She looked at him with questions in her eyes, not understanding what he meant. If this was another attempt to flirt she swore she was going to…
"You never know until you try, Nanao-chan."
--Secrets Of The Scorned--
Rangiku was walking in the outer halls of the Tenth Division, just soaking up the last remnants of the free time she had left. It wasn't that late yet, but the moon was shining brightly overhead. She sometimes hated the later seasons for shortening the day so much. She especially hated it when she used to dwell in the Rukongai. On cloudy days it made everything so much harder to see. Tasks had to be completed faster that usual.
Still, she didn't have to worry about any of that anymore. Those days were long since past. She didn't know why she still thought of them, especially when her memories housed another person that just up and left her behind. Multiple times, really.
She sighed. No matter what she did, her thoughts always drifted back to him one way or the other.
Shaking her head, she opted to think of better things. At least she had a great view. The grid-style streets provided the scene of the open sky. She jumped up onto one of the roofs for a better look, liking how peaceful everything was. There was nobody out as this time, even though it was fairly early.
She was slowly but surely making her way back into the office. She knew for a fact that her captain was still going to be there working on all the paperwork that had a deadline tomorrow. She had heard all about it this morning as she promised she would help out after rounds. Well, she didn't specify when after rounds, so she figured she was still okay as long as she showed up.
She hoped he wasn't too sour from earlier.
Her intentions hadn't been to run off from the start, that's just sort of how they turned out. Really, she was going straight back to the office after that, had her captain not literally ran into Momo.
The opportunity was too golden to pass up. Neither of them probably liked the idea of her ditching them, but if all went as planned, they would be thanking her for it later. She knew they needed time to spend together so they could rework whatever they had lost during the past few months. What better way to have this than by spending some time alone? There wasn't, or at least this is what she thought. If she was really lucky, maybe her captain would be in such a good mood, since he spent the afternoon with her, that he would totally forget that she somewhat ditched out earlier.
She knew for a fact that they had spent nearly the whole afternoon together. Her zanpakuto wasn't the ash cat for nothing.
Like zanpakuto, like wielder?
It was useful to be sneaky sometimes. The last time she checked, Momo was still there. She would probably be gone by the time she returned to the office, but she figured that she could give them as much time as possible, provided she didn't hear any explosions or the temperature didn't drop rapidly.
She smiled at the thought. Now if only Nanao would admit to herself that she wouldn't mind being with her captain then everything would be right. She sighed at the woman's stubbornness. One day the high wall around her would crumble.
She continued on along the roof, knowing that she probably couldn't put off her work any longer. It was a lot for just one person to get done. Unfortunately, it wasn't something that could be passed on to some of the lower seats.
She had only been walking for a few minutes when she thought she saw her shadow flicker. She stopped and turned around, only to see nothing. She supposed it could've been a bird or something, for the only way that her shadow would alter was from something coming between her and the moonlight.
She paused in her thinking to listen for a moment, just in case. She heard nothing, and there wasn't any reiatsu detectable. She continued on, thinking her mind was just playing tricks on her. Then, she heard it.
The hiss of metal. A sound that any soul reaper should be familiar with.
She turned rapidly, bringing Haineko up just in time to feel a crashing weight against it.
She skidded backwards along the roof, the pressure not letting up. There were sparks being generated between two blades, signifying just how hard the other person was pushing. It appeared their reiatsu was rising just as hard as they tried to strike. At this distance, Rangiku couldn't get a good look at her assailant. She raised her own spiritual pressure in response, using a burst of energy to push back just enough to disengage the two blades and push her attacker away.
Rangiku jumped back further, putting more space between them. When she looked to the mystery person expecting to see a zanpakuto raised, she was slightly to see that the blade that had previously engaged her was actually three blades on an armguard that someone was wearing.
It looked a little like what someone in the Kido Corp would wear for close combat. Now that she got a good look at the person, their garb was similar to the secretive group also. From what she could tell, the figure was head to toe in black, with a hood and mask covering their head. Their hands were even covered by a thick glove. She couldn't tell if they were male or female, but she supposed that little detail meant very little on the battlefield.
The figure was brushing off the three blades on their arm, almost like the effort was only enough to raise a little dust from the ground. It was a bit insulting. As far as she could tell, there was no division marking upon their person at all. She immediately assumed intruder then, as they'd been having more of those lately than she would've liked. Was it so easy to get into Seireitei now?
She was about to go on the offensive, an arrest first, ask questions later approach, and release Haineko, but movement from behind her broke her concentration.
She angled her body diagonally a bit so she could still she the assailant in front of her as well as those that appeared behind her. Two more figures were crouched on a nearby roof, just watching. These two had a similar look to them, except they each had a smoky cloak on. She thought she caught a jewel of some sort holding the covering together, but since they were slightly turned away from the light source, it was hard to tell.
She focused her gaze on the first figure once again and eyed them suspiciously. Another movement behind her, the wisp of a flash step, had her turning again, only to meet the form of someone familiar.
"Rangiku!"
Momo had appeared out of nowhere, just leaving the Tenth office if she had to place a guess. She must've felt the increase in spiritual pressure and came to check it out. Rangiku was glad she did. Three unknown opponents against just her wasn't good odds. The two of them against these figures still wasn't something she liked.
The two newly-fixed friends shared a look between them. Momo looked at the figure standing in front of the moon, flexing her blades, as well as the two watching her from the opposite rooftop. Assessing the situation, she made a decision. They each nodded, and Rangiku looked back towards the one that had attacked her.
She raised Haineko, preparing for release. If she dealt with this one quickly, she could help out Momo. It was a good thing that they were still allowed to carry their zanpakuto everywhere with them. They were still technically in a state of war, so they wouldn't get into trouble for releasing. She watched the apparent leader of this rouge group give a nod to the other two in Momo's direction. For now she would have to be on her own.
Momo watched the exchange between the three unknown persons. Steeling herself, she clutched at her own zanpakuto at her side. She would protect those she could. That was one of the reasons she became a soul reaper. Clearly these people meant harm. They would have to be taken care of. She wasn't going to let Rangiku down.
The two on the roof disappeared, both reappearing in the air coming towards her. She unsheathed her zanpakuto and breathed the words that would bring it to life.
"Snap, Tobiume!"
-Part Five Complete
A rope appears through the darkness, leading the eyes to the light above. "Hey, down there! That was quite a fall. I hope you didn't get hurt!"
Yes, what a lovely cliff I just pushed my wonderful, dedicated readers off of. Huh. Well, I'm helping you back up, so forgive me? I really wanted to put the whole scene, but these chapters keep getting longer as it is. I was just going to leave it out, but I did promise some action, so I hope that appeases some of you for the time being. There is more to come!
Saturday is still technically 'next week' like I said. I was supposed to have inernet at my house, but we're having problems yet again. Next week we should have it though. Please be a little patient with me for that reason and because next week is my finals for all my classes. I have two big tests and a project to finish up on, so I don't really know how much free time I'm going to have. I am also working every day that I have off from school. The week of Thanksgiving (or the week after that if some of you don't happen to celebrate that) I have four days off in a row, so I'm able to go back home for a mini-vacation. I will be able to post something then, if not sooner. I know there is internet there.
Anyway, about Momo's eyes, (I know it's a small detail, but those are the things I happen to notice most when I read) they looked that color to me, but if you disagree, please let me know. It might be the lighting in this place that makes it funny. It's not so bright. And Nanao, I know she grew up in Eighth. It's part of my plot. Speaking of that, I'm finally starting to show some! Lots of things happened in this chapter, even if you don't realize it. I hope my web-crafting skills are up to task.
So, good, not good? Let me know. (Seriously, I love hearing from you :D)
--KG