Author's Note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU.
A Girl Can Get Burned
Nanao had assembled about half of the books she needed for the exhibition when a noise made her jump. She frowned as she glanced around. She didn't see anyone nearby, but given the way the stacks were constructed, she might not see anyone else until they were right on top of her. She let out a soft sigh. It was a bad habit of hers to get so caught up in work that the littlest sound could make her start.
Shaking her head, Nanao got back to work. She wanted to be done with this. The air in the archives was rather musty, and her nose had been itching for the past five minutes.
"Nanao?" Shunsui's voice echoed in the archives.
She jumped again; Nanao couldn't help it. She had not expected anyone else to be in here.
She must have inadvertently made a noise for moments later Shunsui appeared in the aisle of shelving she was looking through.
"There you are. I'm sorry it took me so long. I just got your note a half an ago."
Nanao frowned. There had been nothing in that note that would send him looking for her. "What do you mean?"
"The note you left on your computer said you needed to consult with me on something for the conference." It was Shunsui's turn to frown. "Didn't it?"
She shook her head. "The sticky note just said that I was here, and that I thought I'd be back in about two hours."
"It wasn't a sticky note. It was typed on a half sheet of paper and taped to your monitor."
"Why would anyone switch notes?" Nanao wondered aloud. She sighed. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm sorry you came over here for nothing though. I still have another dozen books to find before I can head back to the office."
Shunsui shrugged. "It's not like I'd be doing something else important. Give me half the list, and you can get out of here earlier."
Nanao rattled off a list of call numbers from memory, and Shunsui disappeared back into the stacks. She didn't mind the help. Anything that got her out of here quicker was appreciated. Though Nanao was puzzled by the switch of her note with the one that had sent Shunsui off to find her. It didn't really make sense for someone to do that. At least, unless it was another one of Rangiku's attempts to get Nanao together with Shunsui. That was always possible.
She shook her head. It didn't really matter at this point. Nanao quickly found her half of the remaining titles (it helped that they were all by the same author), and she was pleased to find that Shunsui had already pulled most of the books she had given him to find. A sigh of relief left her lips when the last book was on the cart. Nanao was definitely ready to go home. She and Shunsui chatted amiably about regency literature as they made their way to the archive's entrance. There was only one way in or out of the archives.
A frown appeared on Nanao's face once more when no one was at the desk, and the door appeared to be locked. There was no note either saying when some one might be back. She and Shunsui traded a look.
"Did the staff mention anything about closing earlier today?" he asked her.
Nanao shook her head. "No. Do you think whoever was on duty just took a break?"
"I don't know."
But there wasn't anything they could do until someone came back. Neither of them had a phone, and there wasn't one on this side of the door. They were stuck.
