Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach, but it would be awesome for me if I did!
Warnings: This is an AU story. This story goes along my story Astounding Revelations. I suggest you read that story before starting this one.
Pairings: Mainly Shunsui/Nanao
A/N: Many thanks to my beta, ForeverSam, for everything.
Arrival
By: akirk85029
Jyuushiro was handing Miyako his latest new case files for her to set up on their system when the front door to the office was suddenly opened.
Miyako smiled brightly at her husband surprised to see him in the middle of the day but when Kaien only slightly smiled back at her, she knew something big was going on.
Jyuushiro noticed the same thing. His former protégé never had less than a full smile for his wife and he knew something serious was going on as well, except that he was the only one who asked as he glanced from Kaien to Hisagi and then to the two men he didn't recognize.
Kaien looked at his wife while the worry seemed to be written all over his face. "Where's Nanao?"
"Why do you want to know?" A very protective Shunsui asked from the door to his office. He was suspicious of the two strangers in the office and that Kaien was asking about Nanao.
Kaien gave Shunsui a long, pondering look as he wondered how much he wanted to tell Shunsui unsure of how the man would react to the news he had just been told himself.
"Tell me now or I won't take you to her!" Shunsui pointed out after sensing Kaien's hesitation in answering his question.
"Well, Shunsui, this is Agent Ichigo Kurosaki and Agent Toushirou Hitsugaya…." Kaien has started when he had been interrupted.
Rangiku had stepped forward suddenly and abruptly entered into the conversation after listening from her own office door. She looked directly at Toushirou, she had recognized the name. "You're Nanao's brother!"
It wasn't a question, it was a statement and Toushirou just nodded his head in response to Rangiku's comment. "I need to see Nanao now! I need to know that she's safe and that he hasn't gotten to her!" Toushirou stated looking directly into her eyes. He still held the picture of Nanao that had been placed in his mailbox today, in his pocket. He just hoped he wasn't too late.
It took a few seconds before everyone else realized what he was implying.
"How would he know where she is?" Rangiku asked moving towards the white haired agent.
"Aizen left this in my mail today!" Toushirou stated pulling out the picture to show Rangiku.
Shunsui grabbed it before Rangiku could get a good look and started for the front door. He noticed that the clothes Nanao was wearing in the picture were the same ones she was wearing that morning. Shunsui turned back to them. "Let's go!" Shunsui ordered with a forceful determination.
Toushirou followed right behind Shunsui and pointed towards his own car. Shunsui knew he should say something, this was his brother-in-law, but Shunsui couldn't think about anything other than getting to Nanao. He was growing impatient as he had to wait for others to get into the car. If Nanao didn't have his car he would be gone by now.
Toushirou noticed Shunsui's impatience and tried to reign in his own feelings as he waited for Ichigo and Kaien to climb in the same car. "Why are you so unsettled over this?"
Shunsui glared at the young man and growled out something that sounded suspiciously like 'get this damn car moving!'
Ichigo turned toward Toushirou. "Because he's Nanao's husband." Ichigo said as Toushirou started backing out of the parking spot.
Toushirou stopped for only a second before throwing the car into drive and moving towards the address Shunsui supplied to him. "This is the kind of information I should have been told!" Toushirou grunted out while trying to survey his new brother-in-law while he drove at top speed.
Seira and Kazuhiko smiled as they greeted Tomoya and Miaka on the front drive-way to Shunsui and Nanao's house. Both couples were there to start preparations for the large family dinner to be held there tonight.
"I didn't think that Nanao was supposed to be home." Miaka said pointing towards Shunsui's red Mercedes parked neatly in the drive-way.
"Shunsui told me that she wasn't feeling too well today." Seira said in reply to Miaka's statement. Seira looked into Miaka's eyes as both women smiled hoping that it was for a certain particular reason that Nanao wasn't feeling good.
As both couples reached the front door they noticed that it was slightly ajar.
"Something's not right!" Miaka stated to no one in particular.
All four turned as they heard the sound of several cars pulling into a rushed stop in front of the house.
Shunsui, followed closely by both agents, ran towards the front door and despite the protests from both agents that they needed to make sure the house was safe and secure, Shunsui rushed in and yelled for Nanao.
Tomoya turned towards Rangiku as she hurriedly made her way to the front door. "What's going on?"
"That guy that escaped from jail, he's the one that hurt Nanao!" Rangiku said as she brushed by her step-father to do her own search for Nanao.
Shunsui reached the center of the house where everyone was waiting, except for the agents and Rangiku who had just finished their own search.
"She's not here!" Shunsui stated gripping harshly onto the back of one of the dining room chairs.
Ichigo was on the phone calling for immediate back-up as they were going to need it. They now had a confirmed emergency situation.
Rangiku watched as several agents set up a machine to record incoming phone calls and allow the agents to listen in as well. Rangiku turned to her left to see Toushirou pacing up and down one side of the table and on her right Shunsui was doing the same thing. She didn't know which one she could comfort if any. She doubted Shunsui would want any comforting from her so she turned to Nanao's brother. "She always felt guilty about leaving you!"
That stopped Toushirou in his tracks. He couldn't understand how Nanao could feel guilty about anything. "Why?"
"She always took care of you! You were her brother and she felt like she abandoned you when she left." Rangiku stated.
"You say that like she had a choice in her leaving!" Toushirou replied in an anger-laced tone.
"I know!" Rangiku said holding her hand up. She didn't want to receive the blunt end of his anger. "She went back for you, you know!"
Toushirou just stared at her. He was shocked. He felt so guilty all this time that he hadn't protected her. He thought maybe she had hated him, but if she went back for him then he knew she still thought of him as her brother. "When?" Toushirou choked out.
"When she was eighteen, but you all had already moved!" Rangiku replied remembering the look in Nanao's eyes when she had realized there was no way of locating her own brother now.
Toushirou didn't say anything in response. He didn't know what to say.
Shunsui had sat down at the table as well. He was staring at the cordless phone willing it to ring with Nanao's location. Everyone at the table jumped when the phone did ring.
"Where is she?" Shunsui shouted into the phone.
Seira placed a hand on her son's shoulder to try and calm him down. She had never seen him like this.
"Sir?" A young female voice on the other side of the line said in confusion. "I'm calling from Dr. Unohana's office."
Everyone could hear what was being said through the agents' machine.
Shunsui rubbed his eyes. He tried to think of something polite to say, but nothing was coming to mind.
"Is Mrs. Kyouraku home?" The young girl asked.
Shunsui took a deep breath before responding. "No she's not home and I need to know if there is something seriously wrong with her in case the police need to know."
The young girl was not sure if he was joking or not. "Sir, I'm only supposed to release the information to…."
Shunsui interrupted the girl as he started to yell at her, taking out his worry, fear, and frustration out on the poor school aide.
Through the sniffles he heard her finally blurt out that Nanao was pregnant.
It took a second for the information to sink into Shunsui's head. He took a deep breath before he apologized to the girl, feeling bad for what he had said.
Shunsui hung up the phone before tossing it towards Toushirou who caught it. Shunsui walked over to the window and stared out. This was not how he ever thought he would find out he was going to be a father.
Nanao groaned as she moved a hand to her head. She tried to remember what had happened. She moved to a sitting position and tried to fight the bought of nausea that threatened to overtake her.
"So you're finally awake!" Sosuke said as he watched Nanao sit up.
Nanao tore her eyes open as the memory came flooding back to her as she realized Aizen had been the one in her house. She quenched the fear that she felt for a second and was surprised to find it being readily replaced by anger. "Why?"
Sosuke chuckled at her. He pulled a cell phone from his front pocket and placed it on the coffee table between them. "Because we have unfinished business. Do you know where we are?"
Nanao cautiously looked around the room filled with too much furniture. "No."
"This is my mother's house. She's been dead for many years now, but I thought it would be fitting for you, my first victim, to die here. You should have died so many years ago, but Gin never did get to finish his job and since your brother killed my assistant, I am left to finish the job. You have always only been living on borrowed time Nanao!" Sosuke stated with a grin.
"Where's Toushirou?" Nanao asked knowing that this man she hated knew where her brother was.
"Let's make a call!" Sosuke said before hitting some buttons on the cell phone.
Jyuushiro was talking quietly to Shunsui when the phone started ringing again, both turning towards the now offending sound. Toushirou answered the phone, as he was still holding it, when the agents turned on the tracking device.
"Where is she Aizen?!" Toushirou asked trying to keep his calm.
"She's with me, alive for now!" Sosuke replied with a slight chuckle.
"Why do you have to do this?" Toushirou asked trying a different tactic with the man.
"Because she's the only one of my victims to still be alive. This will end tonight with her death!" Sosuke said tauntingly.
Seira looked over at her son and prayed that Nanao survived this night. She knew her son would not be able to handle it if Nanao died tonight especially with him knowing that she was carrying his child.
Toushirou stood up with anger rolling off of him. He was not going to loose his sister when he was so close to seeing her again. "You're right this will end tonight but it will not be by her death!"
Nanao stared in shock at the cell phone that was on speaker. She couldn't believe that she was hearing her brother's voice after so long. She also couldn't believe how grown up he sounded. The last time she had heard his voice he hadn't even hit puberty yet.
As the conversation went on she realized Aizen was keeping a close eye on the time. She wondered if the cops were somehow with her brother. That was the only logical reason she could think of at the moment that would make Aizen limit the time of the phone call. As Aizen reached towards the phone, Nanao sprung from her position knocking the phone somewhere onto the floor and tried to run.
Sosuke had just a second to decide to go for the phone or to stop Nanao from escaping. He ran after Nanao and tripped her. He smiled at the resounding crash as she fell against the glass curio cabinet. He kneeled down behind her and leaned in to whisper something against her ear.
Nanao used her hands to block her fall and to keep a lot of the glass from flying against her face. Nanao could hear Aizen kneeling behind her. She grabbed one of the heavy, larger crystal figurines and turned as Aizen leaned in nailing him in the head.
Everyone in Shunsui's house held their breath as they listened to the small struggle and then the resonating sound of glass breaking. Shunsui was gripping the back of one of the dining room chairs as he listened. He felt several eyes turn to him as the wood snapped in his hands.
"You fucking bitch!" Everyone heard Aizen call out through the phone that was still on.
"Sir, we have a location!" One of the younger agents shouted as the location started pulling up for him.
Toushirou stood up and looked into Shunsui's eyes and nodded his head. He knew the look that Shunsui had. It was the same look he had when he thought Aizen was going to kill Momo and it was then that he was okay with Nanao's choice in Shunsui. He knew only a man worried about the love of his life would ever have that look in their eyes.
Shunsui followed Ichigo and Toushirou out to their car. Ichigo didn't ask why Toushirou was allowing Shunsui to come with them, he knew that Shunsui would probably follow them anyway and it would be better to know where he was right now.
Everyone back in the dining room was surprised that the young and apparently novice agent left the machine on, but no one was going to complain. They all wanted to know sooner rather than later if Nanao was okay.
Sosuke reached a hand up to his bloodied head and stared at the redness staining his hands when he brought them back down. He had cursed Nanao and now he wasn't going to play any more games, even though he did so enjoyed them.
Nanao tried to scramble out from Aizen's range of contact as she knew she needed to get out of there as soon as possible. She only got away a couple of feet before Aizen's hand wrapped around her and pulled her against him, he held a piece of glass up against her neck.
"Oh Nanao" Sosuke started as he kissed her temple and moved to her neck and held her tighter as he felt her begin to squirm.
"Let me go!" Nanao demanded unsure of why she still had so much anger in her.
"How do you want your brother and husband to find you? I'm sure they are on their way now so we will have to make this fast!" Sosuke said moving with Nanao towards the entrance.
Nanao tried to grab small things as they moved but realized that Aizen was moving them in a way so that everything was out of her limited reach. They halted as they reached the front door and waited.
It took Toushirou twenty minutes to reach the address flying at top speed. The address was in the very next town over to the west. Toushirou wasn't even sure if he placed the car in park as the tires hit the curb before he was out of the car and flying towards the front door to the small white house.
Shunsui had been told to stay in the car by Agent Kurosaki but as all the agents went into their positions, Shunsui got out and followed Nanao's brother's path as the agents started to swarm the little house. There was no way he could stay behind and wait.
Nanao tried to keep the tears from impeding her vision as she saw her brother enter the house with a weapon aimed at them. She knew now was not the time for her to get emotional and she realized now that he was some sort of government agent with the weapon he was carrying and the black suit he was wearing. She gasped as she felt the piece of glass cut the skin of her neck slightly.
Toushirou wished he just had a clear shot but the coward just hid behind Nanao making sure to keep her body level with his so that no one had a clear shot.
"Just let her go so we can finish this!" Toushirou demanded.
"Tsk, tsk, what did I tell you? This will end with her death!" Sosuke said as if he were pointing out the obvious.
Nanao looked up as another figure appeared in the doorway and was stunned to see her husband there. She didn't even know that he knew she was missing. "Shunsui!" Nanao called out before the grip on her tightened again.
Toushirou and Ichigo both tried to keep Shunsui from going further in to block their target even further.
Shunsui stopped when his way further in was blocked, but he didn't try to move any more. He stared at his wife. "Nanao, it's going to be okay!"
Nanao tried not to laugh. She always knew when he was lying. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better, but it didn't help when she could see the worry in his eyes. Nanao took a deep breathe before looking her husband directly in the eye and then her brother as well. "I love you both."
Neither man liked the sound of that.
Nanao leaned her head forward as far as she could without effectively slicing her own neck and then cracked her head back as hard as she could. She could hear the crack as the back of her head made contact with Aizen's nose. She felt his grip loosen and she turned to throw the punch that Shunsui had taught her how to do.
Sosuke saw the punch coming and threw up his hand to block the punch. He just held up the wrong hand.
Nanao's fist made contact with his and the glass that he was holding in his hand made contact with his left eye. The force of Nanao's hit caused the glass to further embed itself into Aizen's brain.
Nanao didn't realize what had happened until she saw Aizen's body twitching on the ground before going completely still.
Everyone at Shunsui's house looked at each other.
"What the hell happened?" Rangiku stated hoping that she just wasn't missing something. Nanao had just said 'I love you' and then there was a sound of a scuffle and then nothing but agents yelling out commands.
They soon heard a crunch and then the line went dead.
"Someone must have stepped on the phone." Jyuushiro said hoping that Nanao was okay.
No one was going anywhere until they heard any kind of news.
Shunsui held Nanao in his arms in the back of one of the police vans as he comforted her.
"Do you think I'm a bad person?" Nanao asked having finished giving her statement to one of the senior agents that had shown up.
Shunsui lifted Nanao's face to be level with his, his hand running briefly over the bandage on her neck. "No, absolutely not. It was self-defense and you know that!"
"But what if I'm not sorry he's dead?" Nanao asked as she searched Shunsui's eyes.
"What if I say that I'm not sorry either?" Shunsui asked staring right back into her eyes.
Nanao smiled before leaning in to kiss her husband.
Soon the door was opened and they were told that they were cleared to leave the crime scene.
Shunsui and Nanao walked with their arms around each other until they reached the edge of the police tape surrounding the area. Nanao looked over towards their destination and saw that her brother was waiting for them, leaning up against his car.
"Go see your brother Nanao!" Shunsui whispered into her ear before loosening his hold on her.
Nanao looked at Shunsui and kissed him again before walking towards her brother.
"Toushirou." Nanao said as she reached her brother.
Toushirou lifted he head as he heard his sister. "Nanao."
Nanao felt the tears run down her cheeks as she ran and hugged her brother; she truly thought she would never see him again.
Toushirou hugged her back trying to keep any tears from falling especially while he was in the presence of other agents.
Nanao pulled back from him and messed his hair. "I can't believe how much you've grown!"
"Old habits died hard, huh?" Toushirou commented with a smile as he tried to fix whatever mess she might have caused to his hair.
Nanao laughed. "You're still ornery I see!"
"Learned from the best!" Toushirou retorted as both siblings hugged again before leaving. They wanted to be able to talk away from this place. Toushirou looked at the house one more time before opening the car door for his sister. He was glad that no one would ever be bothered by Aizen again. He felt that Justice was making a blatant statement for the fact that it had been Nanao to be the one to kill Aizen.
Rangiku let out a squeak as she saw a car pull up and that Nanao was getting out of the car.
Nanao was walking slightly sluggish towards the front door with her husband at her side as her adrenalin rush was starting to wear off. She kept looking back to make sure that Toushirou was following her, almost as if she were afraid she was going to wake up and he wouldn't be there. Nanao soon found herself gasping for air and suddenly realized why. "Rangiku, can't breathe!"
"Oh sorry!" Rangiku said releasing Nanao somewhat from the strong embrace. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Rangiku scolded her before hugging her again.
Nanao had to hug most everyone more than once as she made her way into the living room of her house. She was thankful when Shunsui pulled her next to him but became very suspicious when he asked for everyone's attention.
"Well Nanao, before I force you to get some rest I have something to tell you." Shunsui stated as everyone became suddenly quiet.
Nanao gave him a curious look before he continued.
"We're pregnant!" Shunsui declared with a big boyish grin.
"What!" Nanao stated over the clapping of their family and friends. "How did you find out before me? Are you sure?"
Shunsui just laughed pulling her even closer to him. "Your doctor's office called and that is a story I will tell you about later." Shunsui said before stealing a kiss.
Nanao stood out on the front porch with Shunsui behind her as she said farewell to her brother for the night. "You'll come by tomorrow?" Nanao asked afraid to let him go in case she never saw him again. She still felt like this was all a dream.
"Of course, I'll bring Momo and the kids." Toushirou stated before pulling out his wallet.
Nanao smiled, she couldn't believe that her brother had children of his own now. She took the picture that was offered to her.
Toushirou pointed to his wife. "That's my wife Momo, and this is our daughter Kiyomi, and this is our son Ryutaro."
Nanao stared at the picture amazed. "How old are they?"
"Ki will be five in December and Taro is a little over a month old." Toushirou replied with a smile.
"I can't wait to meet them!" Nanao stated as she started to hand the photo back.
"Keep it. I have plenty more." Toushirou said before giving his sister another hug good-bye. He couldn't believe that after all this time, he had finally found her. They were a family again. He couldn't wait to tell Momo.
Shunsui pulled Nanao into his arms as they closed and triple locked the door. Shunsui gave Nanao a smile as they heard several people upstairs getting ready for bed. Nanao smiled in response. She had a feeling that Rangiku, Hisagi and both of their parents would stay the night tonight.
"How are you feeling?" Shunsui asked as Nanao pulled herself closer to him.
"I don't know. I feel so many things right now; I'm not sure what to feel." Nanao replied as she turned her head back up to look in her husband's eyes.
"Well let me get you to bed. You need your rest now!" Shunsui stated causing Nanao to smile at him.
"As long as your arms are around me, the baby and I will rest peacefully!" Nanao said honestly even though she was sure she was still in shock about everything that had happened.
Shunsui smiled before kissing her passionately, both joyful in the thought that they were still able to hold each other.
A/N : I sincerely hope that I didn't disappoint anyone!! I just have the epilogue left to do. I'm going to try and finish that this week-end so I can get back to my other two stories that I need to finish too!:) If anyone visits the profile page - you'll see that I have two new ideas rolling around in my head too. One I'm still debating whether to make it Ichiruki or another Shun/Nan story. Let me know if you have any preference. Also if anyone wants to offer any suggestions on a baby name for Shunsui and Nanao's baby for the epilogue - I will consider it. I have a name in mind, but I'm thinking I might save it for the other story if I make it a Shun/Nan fic. Anways, this is a long enough a/n. Please let me know what you think. Thanks so much!!:)