Characters: Nemu, Nanao, Shunsui
Summary: In which Nemu studies social interactions.
Pairings: Shunsui x Nanao
Warnings/Spoilers: No spoilers
Timeline: No timeline needed
Author's Note: Nemu, like Rukia, is someone I can imagine spying on people and taking notes.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
November 5, Kurotsuchi Nemu's notes
I have seen it to be necessary to expand upon my understanding of the world around me, namely concerning my understanding of the nature of the socializations of my fellow Shinigami. Mayuri-sama, who has little to tell me on such a subject, has granted me permission to study on my own, to observe and record my findings to be given to him when I have concluded my investigation.
.x.X.x.
Having chosen a pair of Shinigami to observe, I have chosen a secure location to monitor them from. It is important that I not be discovered, as to avoid contaminating the study.
Matsumoto-fukutaicho assures me that Kyouraku-taicho and Ise-fukutaicho are "together", a term that, as I understand it is taken to mean that they are engaged in a sexual relationship. Valuable data on interactions between mated pairs may be gleaned from my observations of them.
.x.X.x.
9:40
Presently, Ise-fukutaicho is filling out paperwork in her office as she customarily does before noon. Kyouraku-taicho enters her office, without knocking, and from my vantage point I can see that Ise-fukutaicho is visibly upset by this. Plainly, even among mated pairs some level of propriety is expected to be maintained.
She instructs him to sit down, but Kyouraku-taicho declines and continues to stand. He inquires if Ise-fukutaicho as been outside at all today.
(Before I continue I feel it necessary to make a side note. While Kyouraku-taicho calls Ise-fukutaicho by the "pet name" of 'Nanao-chan', Ise-fukutaicho continues to consistently refer to Kyouraku-taicho by surname and proper honorific. In a relationship between a male and a female, is it custom that the female continue to be deferent while the male has no need to be? Further inquiry is clearly needed; while Matsumoto-fukutaicho is not always what can be termed a particularly reliable "source", her insight will be valuable into this matter.)
Respectful is somewhat distant, Ise-fukutaicho replied that she has not as she has work to attend to, continuing to read through mission reports and giving the air of deliberately ignoring him. Perhaps she and Kyouraku-taicho have recently had an altercation that could explain the coldness on her part; as I understand it, humans are usually more receptive to the attention of a lover.
Kyouraku-taicho attempts to take her outside, but Ise-fukutaicho refuses and when he continues to persist she reacts violently, drawing a fan with a metal stem to strike the captain's wrist. From my view point I can not tell if the noise that follows is the sound of the fan splintering of Kyouraku-taicho's wrist breaking.
Perhaps wisely, Kyouraku-taicho withdraws.
Deeper study will be needed to determine whether violence is a habitual component of human courtship. If so, then perhaps Ise-fukutaicho is more responsive to Kyouraku-taicho's attentions than previously thought.
.x.X.x.
10:03
In 23 minutes, Kyouraku-taicho returns. Ise-fukutaicho again greets him politely as if their previous encounter never occurred and gestures with her pen for him to sit down in the chair by the window. Kyouraku-taicho doesn't appear to hear her.
As with the last time he came, Kyouraku-taicho reiterates his attempt to escort Ise-fukutaicho outside, and is met wit the same results and the same response on her part. This time, I am certain that the snap is the sound of bones breaking.
Seeing that this tactic won't work, Kyouraku-taicho resorts to a different plan, imploring Ise-fukutaicho to take on the task of completing his paperwork for him if she won't join him outside. Ise-fukutaicho's reaction can not be mistaken for anything but a refusal. She instructs him to leave, if there is no legitimate reason for him to be in her office.
I remain perplexed.
.x.X.x.
12:15
2 hours and 12 minutes after his previous visit, Kyouraku-taicho comes back to Ise-fukutaicho's office, this time with food, take-out from a local restaurant. He seems to have made some sort of breakthrough, for this time Ise-fukutaicho allows him to stay; I can only assume that offerings of food are an integral component of courtship rituals. If anything, she seems to be tolerating his blandishments with slightly better humor. If this is so, Ise-fukutaicho's reticence may be explained by her inability to prepare any meal more complex than un-garnished rice. However, if that is the case I can not fathom why she does not simply attend a cooking class; I will have to speak to her on this matter after my investigation is concluded.
Ise-fukutaicho eats in silence; Kyouraku-taicho attempts to engage her in conversation several times, only to have her tell him not to talk with his mouth full. I see now the importance of shared meals in courtship, though I am not certain of their significance; again, another note for later research.
Kyouraku-taicho endeavors to invite Ise-fukutaicho to dinner in the evening. I expected her to acquiesce but am instead mystified when she declines.
The second time he asks, she rebuffs him coldly.
The third time, she responds with the same violence she exhibited when Kyouraku-taicho tried to walk her outside. He leaves hastily.
I am at a loss.
.x.X.x.
Conclusions
The mentality of intimate relationships remains to me a mystery, one which I will have to explore with further observation of different mated pairs throughout Seireitei and Rukongai (And, failing that, on Earth as well; as ever, discretion will have to be maintained). I hope that I will be able to better understand as time wears on.
I have, however, isolated three variables essential to courtship: persistence, violence, and food.
Again, additional research is needed in order to uncover the cultural significance; however, I have full confidence in my abilities to decipher the meaning behind why attempting to break someone's wrist constitutes an affectionate gesture.
Let me just say that Mayuri let her do this for the express reason of being able to get a laugh out of it later.