Watercolor Lenses

Chapter 6: Noticing Nanao

This story is NOT manga compliant.

It was the subtle announcing that was the most difficult. In order to properly "advertise" she'd been forced to follow him to a bar much to her consternation. It had been everything her previous experience had been only this time she'd been forced to converse with his… dare she call them "groupies"?

Also, she was fairly certain that what she was advocating might be outside of the guidelines for proper behavior of executive officers. Knowing that, she'd had to invent rather ingenious plots to keep the "girls" quiet about renting her Captain for a couple hours.

She wasn't really prostituting him, she told herself. She wasn't suggesting to the clients that she was selling him for sex. Even the very hint of it would get her and her Captain dragged into Division One and censured or worse. She didn't even know what worse could be.

Now, looking at her special schedule book designed for him she found she'd booked his days fairly thoroughly. He'd agreed to take "appointments" after work hours until 10 in the evening. After which was his personal time. Really, she wasn't sure how her plans for his evenings were any different from his own evenings, but didn't see the point of arguing.

Despite her best efforts, the plan to sell off her Captain wasn't going to pay all the bills. She might have been a bit too hopeful in the notion that his popularity with women could solve her financial problems for the office. Really, if she cared to be honest this wasn't about money at all and it was time she acknowledged it.

At least to herself.

He got on her nerves, plain and simple. He denied her the respect she thought she deserved, not even as his Vice-Captain but simply as a person. In simple truth it was more about revenge and control than anything else. Captain Kyouraku Shunsui needed to be controlled and she wasn't sure it was possible.

When a tapping came from her door frame, she peered up to see Matsumoto, busty, blond and rather brash, in her doorway lounged there like she owned it. "Afternoon, am I interrupting?"

Unsure what the woman could want, she simply shook her head "no" and Matsumoto invited herself right on in. Truthfully, she'd been halfway across the room before she'd asked if she was interrupting in the first place.

"Vice-Captain's meeting today at 2."

Nanao just settled for another nod. "I received the message."

"Oh? I heard this office was having a bit of a mail problem, so I just popped by to see. Well… that and I was curious about something." A smirk graced her lips, one eyebrow hitched. "So, are the rumors about you and Captain Kyouraku true?"

A mail problem, that was interesting because the Vice-Captain meeting orders had come through hell butterfly. So unless the butterflies were suddenly getting lost there shouldn't have been any problem on that front.

But rumors? There was a sort of salacious tone to the question. Nanao's head perked up. What kind of rumors? Rumors were bad; rumors meant damage control immediately. Matsumoto's grin grew ever wider.

"What do you mean, 'rumors'?" she cautiously inquired.

"I heard that you were selling blocks of time to … needy females."

Nanao blanched. Needy females? There were rumors that she'd opened some kinky escort service with her Captain as the main course? If the rumors were that bad already… It had only been two days. She would simply have to call the whole thing off; it wasn't as if the plan would rescue her finances anyway. There were other ways to torture her Captain, which, for the moment she would admit to herself she wanted to do. Who could've known it would be so amusing to poke at someone?

"I…" Nanao frowned and gathered her words. "I'm doing nothing of the sort."

"Oh?" Matsumoto inched closer. The older woman crept around Nanao's desk and leaned down by her ear. "What are you doing then?"

"It's nothing like that," Nanao corrected. The woman was already here with questions about rumors; how far was too far ? "I am merely taking advantage of Captain Kyouraku's popularity."

The woman threw her head back in laughter. "Fantastic! I hope you're getting a good rate."

Matsumoto then began in on how much she personally thought the Captain was worth and what he liked to do and making scandalous little innuendo's about his sexual performance. Nanao didn't want to know if her Captain and this blonde were lovers and she really didn't want to know how good a sex partner he was. Really, she had enough trouble concentrating in his presence already without this lady giving her even more silly details…

"Hey! Let's have lunch! There's this cute little place two blocks over and the one waiter over there has the cutest little butt!"

Nanao tried to protest. Listing things she still had to do and officers she needed to meet with all met with the same blank stare from Matsumoto. In the end, the woman grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out. Nanao wasn't sure to be grateful she had someone to spend lunch with or be disgruntled that she was being taken away from her work.

In the hall they passed by a very tardy Captain Kyouraku. "Afternoon, Captain! Taking Nanao for a bit of lunch, see you later."

He gazed them with lazy eyes. "Not inviting the Captain along?" he drawled lowly.

"Girls only!" Matsumoto announced.

Nanao was dragged by him, Matsumoto's arm linked through hers in a grip she was unable to break. Glancing at her Captain, she said nothing and in a moment they were out the door. He looked a bit on the tired side but, really, it hadn't anything to do with her. She didn't schedule him past ten in the evening. How late he stayed out after that was none of her business.

Lunch with Matsumoto was supposed to be simple, Nanao guessed. She was officially allotted thirty minutes for lunch. She was acutely aware of when she stretched that thirty minute mark to thirty-one minutes. Each minute over taxed her delicate nerves. How Matsumoto managed to keep her an hour and twenty minutes over her officially appointed time limit, Nanao wasn't sure but she was anxious as she followed the blonde from the restaurant when they finally left.

The aforementioned waiter waved to Matsumoto as they departed. Nanao kept her head straight ahead her mind returned to business. There was still forty minutes until the Vice-Captain's meeting started. She supposed there was time to stop back at her office to see how things were going when Matsumoto grabbed her arm again.

"Let's go pick up Kaien!"

Without protesting, Nanao knew she'd lost. The woman was like a sledgehammer. She'd never been to the 13th Division offices; maybe it wouldn't hurt to go. She could at least extend the olive branch of- really what was she thinking? Her Captain was already on good terms with the 13th Division Captain and Vice-Captain. Maybe some of the other Divisions though…

As she was pulled through the front door of the 13th Division she felt her hopes dim for her afternoon. Nanao quickly began rethinking her choice to accept her Captain's promise to do her best. When Vice Captain Shiba Kaien came around a corner, grinned like a mad cat and dropped an arm over her shoulder she almost sighed. What an affectionate group they were…

What was becoming of her life?

"Hey, Ise-san!" he called. "The Captain is here, why don't you come over and greet him?"

Apparently it wasn't commonplace for the 13th Division Captain to be in his offices, she thought as he pulled her down the hall. Really, she was going to have to get some control over this group.

Kyrouraku Shunsui sauntered into the Division One meeting room early. The only others there, notably, Kuchiki Byakuya and the General Commander himself turned to peer at him.

"Oh? Early are you, pup?"

The irritating habit of the old man to call him such silly titles had never worn thin. It was an old habit, way back from academy days. No level of power or skill would ever elevate him past "pup" to the old man in charge.

Kyouraku smiled lazily. "There's a new girl in my office," he opened. "Small, cute little thing."

Yamamoto inclined his head. "Ise Nanao." The way he said it made the name rather thunder. "From the Central Library, maintainer of the kidou section…"

No doubt Ukitake had been here giving a detailed report on the girl. It was certainly not commonplace to have such off-the-wall promotions. Most certainly not from the library…

"I've been told your office has made considerable progress in the paperwork. You've been backlogged some months now. The front offices have been running around for days trying to catch up with all the corrections."

Kyouraku took a moment to shrug one shoulder. "Looks like she can handle it."

"It is impressive she managed to get you to a meeting on time," the General Commander noted as the doors behind them slid open and more Captains drifted in.

It wasn't her fault.

She'd had nothing to do with Division Eight and its budget crisis.

Telling herself that, over and over again, was doing nothing for her conscience. Since she'd been returned to the office following the Vice-Captain's meeting she'd been having a crisis of her own. Her desire to put her Captain in his place, in a manner of speaking, had led her to do things she hoped she wouldn't ordinarily do. The entire business of selling him out and the possible repercussions of it all were really bothering her.

They might be in debt, but they didn't have a bad reputation. What if she earned them one? Her, tight-laced Ise Nanao turning Division Eight into a full scale brothel. It was probably a ridiculous notion, but her mind was going haywire.

In her desire to absolve her conscience she had destroyed the schedules, the plans, the rules, the blocks of time. Everything had gone up in a kidou flame in the palm of her hand and there was nothing left of it all but silvery ash. She was disappointed, mostly in herself.

Captain Kyouraku had not returned from his meeting but she wasn't all that concerned. She wasn't interested in seeing him anyway. There were six women allotted time with the Captain tonight and they would be the last. The few inquiries she'd received, the two of them, from former customers had been turned away with little missives to approach the Captain on their own in his personal time.

Her program was defunct and not because it hadn't worked but because conscience and fear had eaten away at her. That being said, Nanao was a fan of fundraisers. She was, also, not responsible for Division Eight's debt.

Captain Kyouraku, however, was very much responsible. A grin curved her lips. She might not have the gusto to sell him off so boldly and damage the Division but she certainly didn't mind selling him in other ways. Grabbing some paper, she began to draft new plans.

AN: I haven't updated this in a long time since I've been working on the other one. As that one is drawing to a close, did this chapter give you any ideas? This beleaguered author would welcome them, because I have no idea what I originally had Nanao planning. ;___;