Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU.

Endings and Beginnings

"Rangiku?" Nanao peered over Shunsui's shoulder.

Her friend looked disheveled and scared. "Aizen's moving. We won't be able to completely stop him, but you should be able to foil some of his plan."

"How do you know?" Shunsui asked even as he was heading out the door.

Rangiku bit her lip. "Gin Ichimaru is my patron. He's been infiltrating Aizen's inner circle for the last few years."

Shunsui nodded, though Nanao was still confused. Shunsui glanced over his shoulder.

"Gin is the spymaster for the Shinigami Knights," he explained. "I want you to stay close, Nanao."

Nanao blinked. He rarely left off the affectionate "chan" from her name. "All right. Where are we going?"

"Aizen wants to delay the coronation. He's sent some one to steal the regalia." Rangiku headed towards the treasury. "Gin's taking care of alerting the Shinigami Knights. Aizen is going to escape. He's planned too well not to, but we can keep him from doing too much damage."

"What aren't you telling us?" Nanao gripped her tanto; she hoped she wouldn't have to use it.

"Gin is going with him. That way he can feed us their future plans."

"Who are they?" Shunsui asked; they were almost to the treasury.

"The Arrancar. Gin suspects that Aizen is a royal bastard. And since most of the royal line was killed in the war--"

"He plans on taking the throne," Nanao finished, "and he wants mine as well."

"Exactly," Rangiku confirmed. "We're not going to let him take it."

"Are you armed?" Shunsui asked Rangiku.

She nodded and produced a short sword.

"Good. I want you two to stay behind me. If there is no one in the treasury, we take the regalia and head for some place more defensible. If some one is already there, you two will take the regalia and get somewhere safe. You said Ichimaru was warning the rest of the Shinigami Knights?"

"Yes."

"Good."

He paused as they came to the treasury doors and turned to Nanao. "Your first priority is your own safety, Nanao. If this even looks like we're outmatched, I want you to run. I know you can take care of yourself, but we cannot risk loosing you. Do you understand?"

Nanao nodded. To her complete surprise, Shunsui then sheathed his swords and cupped her face in his palms. He leaned in close enough that their noses were touching.

"I cannot survive loosing you, Nanao. I need you to be safe so I can protect your kingdom."

He kissed her fiercely then. When he let go, Nanao felt a little dazed. They turned toward the treasury doors, and Nanao stepped forward, murmuring the spell that would unlock the doors. She was not the only one who knew the spell, but she could tell that it hadn't been tampered with yet. As the doors began to open, Nanao cast a lighting spell, and Shunsui pushed her aside and carefully edged into the room. Rangiku took up a position at Nanao's side, her sword ready.

"It's clear."

Nanao hurried inside and began gathering up the regalia. She made a make shift bag out of one of the tapestries and loaded the crown, sword, jewels, and mirror into it. She turned to tell Shunsui that they could go and found him standing with swords drawn facing down Tousen. That was all she saw before Rangiku put herself between the fight and Nanao. But she had seen enough. Shunsui showed tension in every fiber.

"I should have known," her champion spat out. "How long have you been waiting for another chance at me, Kaname? I survived last time. Did Aizen punish you for failing?"

She bit her lip. That implied that someone had been trying to kill her champion from the time he first left Seireitei. This had been going on far longer than she realized. Rangiku latched onto her wrist and began to edge then towards the doorway. The two men seemed to be ignoring them.

"It is a mistake I will not make again. You won't be walking away this time."

They were almost out of the treasury. Nanao barely had a foot outside of it when Tousen's blade came swinging towards her. It met Rangiku's sword with a sharp sound. Rangiku did not back down. She didn't need to worry either. Shunsui quickly reengaged Tousen, and their fight began in earnest. Nanao tore her eyes away from her champion as Rangiku hurried them both out of the room. Nanao gathered her thoughts as they headed down the hall.

"We need to get the regalia someplace safe. You said Ichimaru was warning the rest of the knights?"

"Yes."

"We can't make it safely to their compound, but Sir Ukitake should be in his quarters here. That will do for now."

"Do you have a weapon?"

Nanao nodded. "A tanto. It's not good for anything but close combat, but I'm not a kidou master for nothing."

Rangiku looked startled. "I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were a master."

"Only my instructors and Sir Kyoraku did. I wanted to keep it quiet."

"Good plan."

Nanao led them through the back halls and lesser used passages towards the quarters that Sir and Lady Ukitake used when at court. Nanao knew that Retsu was also trained in defense, so the four of them should be able to manage until reinforcements from the Shinigami Knights showed up. She urgently rapped on their door. It didn't take long for a disheveled Jyuushiro Ukitake to answer. Nanao let Rangiku explain. She needed a chance to collect herself.

It didn't take long for them to fortify their position. Nanao did her best to remain calm. This was not how she had expected things to go down. She had suspected that Aizen was up to something, but she had not expected it to be this serious. He had been brewing a war under her nose. She let out a sigh. This was going to be a headache. She frowned at that thought. That was selfish of her. Yes, she didn't expect her reign to begin with war, but it was more than just a headache for her.

A distinctive knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Sir Ukitake opened it to let in several knights, and Nanao tried to look as regal as possible in a sleeping yukata. Truthfully, she didn't have to do much. Nanao trusted Sir Ukitake and his compatriots to make the proper tactical decisions. Instead, she tried to unobtrusively watch Rangiku and the silver haired man who had drawn her away from the group. He seemed to be speaking quite intently to hear, though Nanao was too far away to hear what he was saying, and Rangiku was clutching his hand tightly even though her face was a mask of calm. This must be Gin Ichimaru. Nanao frowned and made a mental note to make sure she had all the information she needed on hand for a pardon for him when this was all over. Both he and Rangiku deserved that after all they were risking.

She didn't really pay attention to what the other knights were discussing until the decision was made for them to move to a more secure location. Nanao kept a hold of the regalia as they moved out. It made no sense to burden a trained fighter with it. She caught sight of Ichimaru slipping into the shadows but didn't point it out. He needed to make his exit, and they would need the information he could provide. The knights headed for the royal wing. It was one of the oldest parts of the palace complex and had originally been designed for defense.

Nanao managed to get some sleep despite all of the craziness going on. She was awakened in the morning to find her champion asleep beside her. She could see daylight peeking in from one of the high windows. Yawning, she rose to her feet and made her way over to the knight keeping watch.

"Excuse, Sir…"

"Hitsugaya, your highness."

"Sir Hitsugaya, what is the state of things?"

"Aizen and his supporters have escaped. The palace is secure, and we should have the capitol secure by midmorning."

Nanao nodded. "Thank you. I need to get to work then."