(no subject)
Wrote a little one-shot of Shunsui-Nanao. It's a little dry I think, not as amusing as I had hoped, but my first fics usually are. Meh. At least this got me thinking about it ^_^
Title: A Change of Situation
Genre: General with a hint of flirting
Disclaimer: Bleach will never be mine, sadly.
Summary: Nanao is forced to change divisions upon request of the Gotei 13.
Ise Nanao was seldom more affronted then the day she received her new orders from the Captains of the Gotei 13. She was to transfer immediately from the sixth division to the eighth. That it was unfair had been her first thought when Kuchiki Byakuya coolly told her the news, his face and voice mirroring her blank one. It was from him, she had first learned discretion.
Unfortunately, she had learned a little too well apparently.
With sufferance, Nanao packed up her meager belongings, some clothing and a large collection of books on history, science, Kidou, and other topics meant to help hone her skills to become the best Shinigami she could be. If only she had tried a little less, she might still be with Captain Kuchiki and sitting in third seat behind Abarai Renji.
But the Gotei 13 liked mixing up their subordinates, pairing them with their opposite when necessary to be the balance that kept their Captains strong. But why did she have to get promoted to vice-captain of the Eighth division? She had heard stories and seen first hand what kind of captain Kyouraku Shunsui was. He was lazy, indulgent, a womanizer of the first degree, and his whole personality screamed theatrics! One look at his showy kimono was all it took to prove that. It was pink, of all colors.
Nanao rubbed the bridge of her nose as she shifted the weight of her belongings on her back. It would take a little while to move her large collection two divisions over. And she was nothing, if not punctual. She would be ready to work by the twelfth hour as instructed. There would be no end to the things she’d have to put up with. She just knew it.
Walking briskly into the barracks, she glanced around the tastefully decorated barracks in surprise, noting with a critical eye the flower arrangements and the heavenly scent of incense that had been burned into the walls of the building. It made even Nanao relax just a little, her pace slowing just a smidgeon as she walked through the rooms to the vice-captain’s quarters. The layout for each of the buildings was the same, making her transition a little easier to bear.
Sliding open the door to her quarters, she nearly dropped her books at the beautifully painted screen propped up in front of her. Spanning its three panels was a picture of a mountain with a dragon painted in brilliant shades of red and blue resting on the top, enjoying the sun beating down on it from above. In the valley below were tiny huts of a village resting peacefully beneath the dragon, sensing its desire to protect and guard. It was a beautiful painting done in the old way with bamboo brushes, she noted. It must have cost a fortune to own.
She would have to tell her captain to remove it during their appointment later that afternoon. “Still,” she thought, stepping closer to examine the screen. ‘It really is quite beautiful.” She felt a little jolt of disappointment, thinking she’d have to give this up. There was something about it that made her think of tranquility and deep meditations. It would be a treat to examine it during the quiet hours of her studies. Blank walls got a little tedious when she was trying to unravel the complexity of theory.
Shrugging off her musings, she turned back to the bag she had placed on the ground by the door and began to unpack, efficiently arranging the room to her liking and unintentionally making the screen her central focal point.
-\-|-/-
Stepping into the shaded office, she nearly groaned out loud. Captain Kyouraku was already deep in his cups, and piles of papers littered the small desk placed off to the side ready for her attention while his own was bare of everything except a few books that looked suspiciously like poetry. They were thin and the writing seemed too ornately decorated to be much else. “Captain,” she said curtly, a tiny bit of displeasure creeping into her voice despite her best efforts.
“Ise Nanao!” he sang from his vantage point on the ground and moving his straw hat up a bit with one hand to better see his new Vice Captain. Sitting up from his half recumbent spot on the floor, he gestured to the empty mat on the other side of the tiny table laden with two sake cups and a decanter. “Won’t you have a drink with me?” he charmingly asked, pouring her a cup automatically.
Warily she walked towards him, staring down her long pointed nose “Don’t you think it’s a little early to be drinking?”
Shunsui stared blankly up at his new Vice-captain, taking in her severe hair-style and pinched face. But what really struck him, what had always struck him, was the fire in her eyes. He had been well pleased when the Gotei 13 decided to reassign Ise Nanao to his division despite the circumstances that forced her reassignment in the first place. There was just something about her that had made him curious to discover the woman beneath the façade. Now, here was his chance.
“Lovely,” he breathed, watching with pleasure the light blush that graced her cheeks.
Ignoring the comment as best she could, she tapped her fingers against her thigh. “Captain, do we not have work we must be doing?” She was glad she had the foresight to eat before arriving.
Shumsui blinked in answer. “But it’s noon! It’s time to relax and eat and take a nap while the sun is still shining. Don’t you want to relax my sweet Nanao-chan?”
He knew it; the endearment brought the flush of color to her face once again.
Fingers clutching the fabric of her Shinigami robes, she glared daggers at her flirtatious captain. He was lucky he was impervious to glares otherwise he would have been knocked out cold on the fancy mat he was sitting on. “No, Captain, I am here to work as hard as I must to keep this division running smoothly. It is not part of my duties to take naps and drink at all hours of the day, and I trust you won’t either.”
The warning was clear in her voice, but Shunsui’s attention was focused on something else, mainly the fact that Nanao wasn’t willing to be friends just yet. He always did like a challenge, anything to distract him from the guilt he still felt for sending Fuzake on the mission that killed him. He had stayed behind like a good captain should, letting his subordinates handle cases as they came up to challenge their growth. He would take care to be more cautious with this one, especially when she wore that look of murder in her eyes. It animated her whole face to his delight. “Please, call me Shunsui, it’s much nicer.”
Nanao sighed. It seems his head was as thick as she had dreaded. “Captain, I would prefer to not overstep my boundaries. I would also like to request that the screen placed in my room be removed at once.”
“You don’t like it?” he asked with a hurt look as he took a swig of the sake he had been attempting to get his new Vice-Captain to drink. She needed to loosen up a little. “I made it specifically for you.”
Nanao’s stomach did a little flip-flop. Her first thought was insanity. Surely this man lazily stretched out before her hadn’t had the patience and the talent to make something like that on such short notice. The decision had only been made the day before. Her second thought was that maybe he wouldn’t be so bad to work for if his dedication and swiftness carried over to his duties as a Captain. Her third thought was, “You’re deluding yourself.”
Shunsui pouted as the silence dragged on, his eyebrows dipping into a frown as he mock swooned. “But Nanao-chan, I thought you would appreciate the effort I made to make your room more personable and make you feel welcomed. Won’t you keep it just to make me happy?”
Defeat made her shoulders slump as she turned shifted her eyes away from his doe-brown ones. “Fine Captain,” she said resignedly. “I’ll keep the screen.”
His face lightening up, he jumped to his feet, and made to move around the table. Startled, Nanao backed up, retreating until the desk hit her back and a pile of paper got pushed onto the floor. With delight, Shunsui wrapped his arms around her shoulders, engulfing her in a sea of pink and making her blush a shade to match. Whispering into her ear, he sensually whispered, “I do believe this is the start of a wonderful relationship, my dear Nanao-chan.”
Her fingers spasmed in panic at the close contact, never having felt the odd twist of feelings gushing through her system. She had never let a guy get so close to her before unless she was helping him get home after a night of drinking. She was often trusted to be the responsible one among the other vice captains and seats. Reaching behind her, she felt the hard edge of a heavy tome and grabbed it. Smiling briefly up at him, she saccharinely whispered in reply, “I’m sure it will be, Captain.”
“Shunsui,” he repeated unwrapping one arm to grasp her chin with his strong fingers. “I want you to call me Shunsui, Nanao-Omph!”
Nanao smiled brightly as her captain stumbled back a step at the sudden strike to his midsection with the book as well as a foot stomp to his instep. Looking down at her hands, she read the title of the book she had picked up. “Defensive Tactics,” she thought mentally tallying the weight. Yes, this book would be perfect to keep her Captain at bay. It wasn’t so heavy that she’d get tired of carrying it around, and its edges were blunt enough she wouldn’t get in trouble for wielding a weapon in Soul Society. There was a certain wry humor to that.
“Nanao-chan!” he cried, his face exuding hurt. “Why did you do that?”
She hefted the book, ready to swat her captain again if he tried to close the distance between them. He took note of her stance and serious expression and retreated a half step to put her at ease. “I am here to be your Vice-Captain, not your sweet Nanao-chan! I request you keep your distance, Captain.”
He frowned and sighed and silently conceded defeat. Tugging his hat lower to conceal his eyes, he nodded. Returning to his seat, he picked up the Sake and poured himself another drink. Lifting the glass, he silently saluted her where she continued to warily gaze at him. “For now my sweet Nanao-chan, you can keep your distance. But I will always be here waiting for the day you ready to admit your love for me!”
She nearly threw the book at him for saying that dreaded endearment again and for assuming she was already head over heels in love with the insufferable flirt. Instead, she stalked forward, grabbed the sake cup from his hands and the half-emptied decanter and returned to her desk where she placed them in a drawer. Sitting down, she angrily began shuffling papers around, returning to order the ones she had knocked over and getting to the business of maintaining her new division.
Shunsui just smiled, retreated to his own desk and retrieved another bottle of sake. Sitting there, leaning back in contentment, he drank himself to sleep, contemplating her face and his good fortune. He couldn’t wait for the next little skirmish with the tantalizingly guarded Ise Nanao.
Title: A Change of Situation
Genre: General with a hint of flirting
Disclaimer: Bleach will never be mine, sadly.
Summary: Nanao is forced to change divisions upon request of the Gotei 13.
Ise Nanao was seldom more affronted then the day she received her new orders from the Captains of the Gotei 13. She was to transfer immediately from the sixth division to the eighth. That it was unfair had been her first thought when Kuchiki Byakuya coolly told her the news, his face and voice mirroring her blank one. It was from him, she had first learned discretion.
Unfortunately, she had learned a little too well apparently.
With sufferance, Nanao packed up her meager belongings, some clothing and a large collection of books on history, science, Kidou, and other topics meant to help hone her skills to become the best Shinigami she could be. If only she had tried a little less, she might still be with Captain Kuchiki and sitting in third seat behind Abarai Renji.
But the Gotei 13 liked mixing up their subordinates, pairing them with their opposite when necessary to be the balance that kept their Captains strong. But why did she have to get promoted to vice-captain of the Eighth division? She had heard stories and seen first hand what kind of captain Kyouraku Shunsui was. He was lazy, indulgent, a womanizer of the first degree, and his whole personality screamed theatrics! One look at his showy kimono was all it took to prove that. It was pink, of all colors.
Nanao rubbed the bridge of her nose as she shifted the weight of her belongings on her back. It would take a little while to move her large collection two divisions over. And she was nothing, if not punctual. She would be ready to work by the twelfth hour as instructed. There would be no end to the things she’d have to put up with. She just knew it.
Walking briskly into the barracks, she glanced around the tastefully decorated barracks in surprise, noting with a critical eye the flower arrangements and the heavenly scent of incense that had been burned into the walls of the building. It made even Nanao relax just a little, her pace slowing just a smidgeon as she walked through the rooms to the vice-captain’s quarters. The layout for each of the buildings was the same, making her transition a little easier to bear.
Sliding open the door to her quarters, she nearly dropped her books at the beautifully painted screen propped up in front of her. Spanning its three panels was a picture of a mountain with a dragon painted in brilliant shades of red and blue resting on the top, enjoying the sun beating down on it from above. In the valley below were tiny huts of a village resting peacefully beneath the dragon, sensing its desire to protect and guard. It was a beautiful painting done in the old way with bamboo brushes, she noted. It must have cost a fortune to own.
She would have to tell her captain to remove it during their appointment later that afternoon. “Still,” she thought, stepping closer to examine the screen. ‘It really is quite beautiful.” She felt a little jolt of disappointment, thinking she’d have to give this up. There was something about it that made her think of tranquility and deep meditations. It would be a treat to examine it during the quiet hours of her studies. Blank walls got a little tedious when she was trying to unravel the complexity of theory.
Shrugging off her musings, she turned back to the bag she had placed on the ground by the door and began to unpack, efficiently arranging the room to her liking and unintentionally making the screen her central focal point.
-\-|-/-
Stepping into the shaded office, she nearly groaned out loud. Captain Kyouraku was already deep in his cups, and piles of papers littered the small desk placed off to the side ready for her attention while his own was bare of everything except a few books that looked suspiciously like poetry. They were thin and the writing seemed too ornately decorated to be much else. “Captain,” she said curtly, a tiny bit of displeasure creeping into her voice despite her best efforts.
“Ise Nanao!” he sang from his vantage point on the ground and moving his straw hat up a bit with one hand to better see his new Vice Captain. Sitting up from his half recumbent spot on the floor, he gestured to the empty mat on the other side of the tiny table laden with two sake cups and a decanter. “Won’t you have a drink with me?” he charmingly asked, pouring her a cup automatically.
Warily she walked towards him, staring down her long pointed nose “Don’t you think it’s a little early to be drinking?”
Shunsui stared blankly up at his new Vice-captain, taking in her severe hair-style and pinched face. But what really struck him, what had always struck him, was the fire in her eyes. He had been well pleased when the Gotei 13 decided to reassign Ise Nanao to his division despite the circumstances that forced her reassignment in the first place. There was just something about her that had made him curious to discover the woman beneath the façade. Now, here was his chance.
“Lovely,” he breathed, watching with pleasure the light blush that graced her cheeks.
Ignoring the comment as best she could, she tapped her fingers against her thigh. “Captain, do we not have work we must be doing?” She was glad she had the foresight to eat before arriving.
Shumsui blinked in answer. “But it’s noon! It’s time to relax and eat and take a nap while the sun is still shining. Don’t you want to relax my sweet Nanao-chan?”
He knew it; the endearment brought the flush of color to her face once again.
Fingers clutching the fabric of her Shinigami robes, she glared daggers at her flirtatious captain. He was lucky he was impervious to glares otherwise he would have been knocked out cold on the fancy mat he was sitting on. “No, Captain, I am here to work as hard as I must to keep this division running smoothly. It is not part of my duties to take naps and drink at all hours of the day, and I trust you won’t either.”
The warning was clear in her voice, but Shunsui’s attention was focused on something else, mainly the fact that Nanao wasn’t willing to be friends just yet. He always did like a challenge, anything to distract him from the guilt he still felt for sending Fuzake on the mission that killed him. He had stayed behind like a good captain should, letting his subordinates handle cases as they came up to challenge their growth. He would take care to be more cautious with this one, especially when she wore that look of murder in her eyes. It animated her whole face to his delight. “Please, call me Shunsui, it’s much nicer.”
Nanao sighed. It seems his head was as thick as she had dreaded. “Captain, I would prefer to not overstep my boundaries. I would also like to request that the screen placed in my room be removed at once.”
“You don’t like it?” he asked with a hurt look as he took a swig of the sake he had been attempting to get his new Vice-Captain to drink. She needed to loosen up a little. “I made it specifically for you.”
Nanao’s stomach did a little flip-flop. Her first thought was insanity. Surely this man lazily stretched out before her hadn’t had the patience and the talent to make something like that on such short notice. The decision had only been made the day before. Her second thought was that maybe he wouldn’t be so bad to work for if his dedication and swiftness carried over to his duties as a Captain. Her third thought was, “You’re deluding yourself.”
Shunsui pouted as the silence dragged on, his eyebrows dipping into a frown as he mock swooned. “But Nanao-chan, I thought you would appreciate the effort I made to make your room more personable and make you feel welcomed. Won’t you keep it just to make me happy?”
Defeat made her shoulders slump as she turned shifted her eyes away from his doe-brown ones. “Fine Captain,” she said resignedly. “I’ll keep the screen.”
His face lightening up, he jumped to his feet, and made to move around the table. Startled, Nanao backed up, retreating until the desk hit her back and a pile of paper got pushed onto the floor. With delight, Shunsui wrapped his arms around her shoulders, engulfing her in a sea of pink and making her blush a shade to match. Whispering into her ear, he sensually whispered, “I do believe this is the start of a wonderful relationship, my dear Nanao-chan.”
Her fingers spasmed in panic at the close contact, never having felt the odd twist of feelings gushing through her system. She had never let a guy get so close to her before unless she was helping him get home after a night of drinking. She was often trusted to be the responsible one among the other vice captains and seats. Reaching behind her, she felt the hard edge of a heavy tome and grabbed it. Smiling briefly up at him, she saccharinely whispered in reply, “I’m sure it will be, Captain.”
“Shunsui,” he repeated unwrapping one arm to grasp her chin with his strong fingers. “I want you to call me Shunsui, Nanao-Omph!”
Nanao smiled brightly as her captain stumbled back a step at the sudden strike to his midsection with the book as well as a foot stomp to his instep. Looking down at her hands, she read the title of the book she had picked up. “Defensive Tactics,” she thought mentally tallying the weight. Yes, this book would be perfect to keep her Captain at bay. It wasn’t so heavy that she’d get tired of carrying it around, and its edges were blunt enough she wouldn’t get in trouble for wielding a weapon in Soul Society. There was a certain wry humor to that.
“Nanao-chan!” he cried, his face exuding hurt. “Why did you do that?”
She hefted the book, ready to swat her captain again if he tried to close the distance between them. He took note of her stance and serious expression and retreated a half step to put her at ease. “I am here to be your Vice-Captain, not your sweet Nanao-chan! I request you keep your distance, Captain.”
He frowned and sighed and silently conceded defeat. Tugging his hat lower to conceal his eyes, he nodded. Returning to his seat, he picked up the Sake and poured himself another drink. Lifting the glass, he silently saluted her where she continued to warily gaze at him. “For now my sweet Nanao-chan, you can keep your distance. But I will always be here waiting for the day you ready to admit your love for me!”
She nearly threw the book at him for saying that dreaded endearment again and for assuming she was already head over heels in love with the insufferable flirt. Instead, she stalked forward, grabbed the sake cup from his hands and the half-emptied decanter and returned to her desk where she placed them in a drawer. Sitting down, she angrily began shuffling papers around, returning to order the ones she had knocked over and getting to the business of maintaining her new division.
Shunsui just smiled, retreated to his own desk and retrieved another bottle of sake. Sitting there, leaning back in contentment, he drank himself to sleep, contemplating her face and his good fortune. He couldn’t wait for the next little skirmish with the tantalizingly guarded Ise Nanao.