Watercolor Lenses

Chapter 5: All in the Manual

It was noontime the next day before Nanao took stock of two things. The paperwork burning had reached its zenith and the rest just needed to be corrected, resubmitted, or archived. Noting that, she took a seat behind her desk and tried to absorb it all. There hadn't been a period of such flutter of activity in her life since…since… since her academy days and that seemed ages ago. It brought a smile of accomplishment to her face that she was able to clean up the paper in roughly two days. Though, thinking of what remained: the general inventory, replacement uniforms, office supplies, and the combat equipment. Her work was not yet done. There was also the practice schedule that needed reformatting and the repairs to the building itself. She was going to have to call in the contractors for some building damage but did they have the money for that? Truly, what was the highest priority?

She recalled, vividly, the previous evening with her Captain. His warning that she redo the combat schedule was not being taken lightly. He had certainly been right about them hanging around. She'd caught one group in the kitchen, another in the back courtyard, and yet even more in the front anteroom of the office all parked around in a little circle taking bets on who could flip a coin into a cup on the first try. With a sigh, she stood and went to find Itou. He was bound to know where she could find the old training schedule.

Hopefully.

Kyouraku opened the front door of his Division office lazily. Silence met him from every direction. He'd been expecting more… activity. The place was barely lit up and quiet. No more than two steps inside his keen ears picked up the tail end of a round of cheering.

Had she gone ahead with the combat scheduling then?

He wandered toward the back courtyard and peered out the giant window at the end of the hall. Half or more of his shinigami were piled around, as they had been for Nanao's battle, watching. It was an unusual way of going about combat training, he thought. It was more typical to break them down into sub-groups not to hold a mini-tournament.

Half an hour later with several empty alcohol bottles at his side, he realized what she was doing. She was assessing the skill level of her seated officers and assigning combat instructors. A grin curled the edges of his lips. That was quite an ingenious way of doing things, certainly a bit more work than required, but she liked the personal touch, he imagined.

He was certainly not opposed to the personal touch, he thought with a wayward smile. Truly, he was more than willing to let his new Vice-Captain touch everything and anything she desired, including but not limited, to his person. He would have to remember to make that clear later.

It was immediately apparent when she had finished her assessments as she consulted a paper in her hands and began calling out names. It shouldn't have taken him by surprise that she had organized them according to what she saw were their personal weaknesses. With quick efficiency, she assigned groups and then delegated those groups amongst the Division 8 training halls and fields. She was an organizational marvel going so far as to dole out the equipment still usable to particular groups.

When she turned to leave the courtyard field, the papers with her extensive notes clutched in her hand, he thought to congratulate her. Really, she deserved praise for her work, he was quite impressed. As she neared, however, there was, he saw, a light in her eyes that made the hair on his neck rise. What had the little vixen done to him now?

"Captain, how good to see you." It wasn't a cheerful tone, briefly he wondered if this icy woman had a cheerful tone. She sounded pleased another of her plans might be coming to fruition.

"Good job, Nanao-chan. Very impressive." He raised a sake cup up to her in commendation and downed the contents and then smiled widely, ignoring the uneasiness that now sat in his belly.

"I do not know who you are calling, 'Nanao-chan'," she answered, her voice flat. "But I am pleased to see you; there is much we should discuss."

He stood, ready to accommodate her. There was something about her manners that suggested he wouldn't like it if he didn't accommodate her and he wasn't sure what consequences she could bring yet. They had not tested one another's boundaries.

"Of course, where are we going?"

She led the way back inside without answering, instead, she turned to one of the office aides just in the doorway, paused and pointed backward. "Clean up the mess that Captain Kyouraku has made outside with the sake."

"Yes, ma'am." The aide scrambled to obey and Nanao was off again. What a little spitfire she was… He liked a woman who could take charge. They were always quick to tell you how to satisfy them. Briefly, he wondered if little Nanao-chan could be that forward.

He followed like a tethered pup, his eyes tracing the stiff line of her shoulders, the narrow curve of her waist… Ise Nanao was one of those delectable creatures that thrived on control. Briefly, he entertained a fantasy of wresting her control away, holding her to the floor of her office and ravishing her… Or his office was just as good. Really, any room in the Division would be acceptable…It didn't sound too likely, but fantasy was fantasy.

When the door of his office noisily clattered open he followed her in. She closed the door behind him and his fantasy made a momentary reappearance in the forefront of his brain. All too brief, however, as the sight of the place dispelled the delectable image of her on the floor. There was no space on the floor to ravish her. Looking around he was met with neatly organized stacks of paper, through which a clever walkway had been designed.

"I've have gone over the manual, all of these reports need your express approval for filing and submission to Division One. Also, there is the much needed examination of our finances."

He kind of liked that she was referring to it as "our finances". It seemed she had accepted her place in the Division. Really, he thought, he kind of liked her. She wasn't … ah, conventional. The least he could do was be cooperative. She certainly kept him on his toes.

"So where do we start?" he walked around his desk and sat down looking around. When silence followed his question he peered up at her. There was an expression of surprise upon her usually stern features. "Nanao-chan?"

Was she really surprised he was going to do some work? Maybe he should try cooperating with her more often. Who knew where it might land him?

"Um, to your left. I've organized everything by priority."

Four hours later he was exhausted and it seemed she was only getting revved up. Her hands worked with a quickness he found inspiring. The way her mind worked was equally fascinating, razor sharp, analyzing and discarding information so quickly it felt as if just having her beside him lifted the entire workload of the office from his shoulders. Perhaps that was unfair of him, he thought, taking a good long look at the tiny set of shoulders she had.

"Captain," she spoke quite suddenly and quite soberly.

He raised his eyes from the paper he'd been staring at but not reading. "Hmm?"

She was hunched on her knees in front of his desk, her expression melancholy. "We need money."

There was a fine kind of strictness in her expression. He'd bet his belt she had a plan already in mind and only required his approval. Was that what this rather… pleasant… afternoon had been about? Convincing him of the need for Division capitol? She had been going on and on about debt at one point if he recalled correctly.

"Oh?" he propped up an elbow and centered his gaze upon her stony countenance.

"We don't have even a fraction of the costs to pay for all this. There are supplies, repairs, not to mention the late fees…" She looked down; shuffling papers with an efficiency that made his head ache and produced a white sheet so identical to the rest he wondered if she could find it if he dropped it into a huge stack near the door. Circled was a projected numerical figure and he just frowned at the number of digits. Was that owed out or needed for operation?

"We need at least this much money to clear our current debts. After that, I can budget all the office expenses to keep everything going."

"Do you have a plan?" Obviously there was little to do but ask her.

"We do not possess the money or ability to produce a product to gather income, so we can't sell anything, but we do have something we can most likely successfully rent out."

He cocked a brow at her suggestively. What was she about to suggest? "Indeed?"

With a curt nod she answered, quelling his curiosity. "You."

"You are the nerviest little chit…" he remarked lazily, standing.

It wasn't an action that immediately put her upon guard. He was just standing. Really, he'd been much more cooperative than she'd expected through it all. A proper demonstration of their debt had to be made; somehow explaining it in mere words seemed futile. Especially as the whole business just seemed to bore him no matter what she said. She was convinced she could've told him he was growing plum branches from his ears and he would've nodded in agreement with her.

She saw no occasion to stand with him as he came around to her side of the desk and the little square of neatness surrounding the space where she sat. Kneeling, he brought one large hand up and cupped her jaw. His gaze was like fire across her skin causing her heart to thud faster.

Captive.

"Ise Nanao, are you telling me you wish to sell out your Captain for money?"

"Sell out" sounded positively traitorous, did he need to phrase it in such a way? She was distracted as one finger suddenly danced along her cheek returning her attention to his face. She struggled against her nerves to speak. It was near impossible to do so as he crowded over her, still stroking her face so… so… inappropriately! He was so singularly…

"You suggested so yourself the other evening-"

"Ah," he corrected, interrupting her, his tone very gentle and his eyes very dark. "I thought I made that offer to you and not to the Division."

A flush encompassed her. It was like a sudden summer storm, unexpected and powerful, she felt the heat to her toes. Her body was positively humming with it. Never, her traitorous body whispered, would she have found this in the library...

"Not the Division, Sir…but all of the Gotei-13. We won't make any money limiting you to just our Division."

Bringing his other hand up, her held her face in both hands, very gently, sliding his thumb across her lips. Her breath hitched and she flinched at her own shuddering at his touch. She felt like a schoolgirl in the hands of a rake, foolish and inexperienced but there was no suggestion of mocking in his demeanor.

Attempting to regain control of the situation, Nanao frowned and tried to move back but he only leaned forward. If she went back any further she'd fall flat on her back on the floor and that would be worse.

Whatever look he'd given her before, now it was different. Intensity rolled off of him in waves. She could feel his body heat through his clothes and wondered what it would feel like to have the weight of his frame over her body… was this what it was like to want a man? A sudden inspiration took her, this must be passion! A real one! It wasn't the same as the feeling her books roused in her this was… intense beyond what words could really offer her.

He dropped his hands away and licked his dry lips, a sigh escaping. "Sell me then, Nanao." Her name, no '-chan' attached only made her feel hotter. "Sell me to whoever you wish, but once it's over, I'm claiming a reward for all this frustration with you. You have no choice and no say in what matter I collect it."

It wasn't menace in his eyes just then; it was sort of a thick, dark promise. Something that propriety whispered might be way over the bounds. But this was her Captain, a man of honor; he wouldn't take advantage of her… Well, she wasn't exactly sure of that, but she was hoping.

When he drew away it left her feeling a rush of cold. Had the air surrounding him truly been so heated? He moved toward the door and stood a moment before opening it, abandoning her to his office. "Make your plans."

It sounded more like an order than anything he'd ever said to her in his capacity as Captain. Suddenly, she wasn't sure it was a bad idea or a fantastic idea.

AN: Though it might be nice of me to post something on this. Just so you know I haven't totally abandoned it. I'm a bit stuck with this one actually, but I'm trying. Maybe I need a new direction?