Author's Note: This will be my first chaptered fic. This is a collection of day-in-the-life moments of my favorite Captain and Vice-Captain. As the name states we will find out the Secret Language of Flowers. It is my attempt to increase the amount of fics written about my favorite pairing in Bleach. Shunsui Kyouraku and Nanao Ise (Nanao-Chan). Just trying to do my part. I am, however, usually a reader and not a writer. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only play with them.

The Language of Flowers

Chapter 1: Camomiles

Newly appointed Vice-Captain Nanao Ise was walking down a street in Soul Society, carrying her file folder which included her new Transfer Orders and her Promotion Notice. She was told by one of her fellow Vice-Captains that she would need to present it to her Captain.

Her new Captain was none other than Captain of Squad Eight Kyouraku Shunsui. He was one of the oldest and strongest Captains in all of Soul Society. Having been taught by the Head Captain himself. She had expected him to be fearsome and awe-inspiring, but had been told by a very nice Vice-Captain, Kaien Shiba that he was laid back and easy to work with.

Nanao sincerely hoped that he was a likable person. She had worked very hard to get to the position of Vice-Captain of an entire squad and wanted to have a good relationship with her captain. She wanted them to be able to work together well in the office as well as on missions.

Having reached her destination of the Squad Eight Head Building and Offices, she stopped to catch her breath and calm her nerves. She hadn't been this nervous since her best friend Rangiku Matsumoto had dared her to kiss one of her other classmates in the courtyard of the Academy of all places. Nanao reached up to check that she had no hair out of place for what was probably the tenth time. Squaring her shoulders for the task that must be accomplished, she took a deep breath and headed to the Captain's Office.

She came to a stop at the door to the office. After admiring the large number eight that adorned it she knocked softly. Nanao waited for a few seconds, but heard no reply. So she knocked again a little louder, but their was still no reply. Wondering what could keep her new Captain from answering the door, she had a short debate with herself on whether she should just go in anyway. She was the new Vice-Captain of this squad and she couldn't just stand out in the hallway looking silly.

Having decided on her course of action she slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Their was no one inside the office. She opened the door wider and moved inside the room. Maybe her Captain was out attending to other business, and had forgotten that she would be arriving today. Deciding that she would just have to wait for her Captain's return she walked toward the desk and noticed that their was not any chairs sitting in front of it. She thought that this was a little odd, but continued her perusal of the space.

There was a large solid wood cabinet standing against the wall to her right. It was sitting between several filing cabinets, but dwarfed them in comparison. Bookshelves filled with all kinds of books adorned the adjacent wall. But it was the last wall that held her attention. It was facing the small division courtyard. Through the large windows she could see a beautiful garden. It had awe-inspiring Cherry Trees and other flowers she couldn't name. Their was also a small pond in one corner. Nanao could just barely see one large golden Koi Fish.

When Nanao turned back to the office she noticed from her new position that there were large stacks of paper all along the wall behind the desk. Not sure what to make of this, she went to investigate.

It appeared that it was paperwork that had been neglected for what looked like the last four months. With a shake of her head Nanao once again looked back to the empty desk. Spying something that she hadn't noticed before lying on the desk was a small slip of paper. I was placed with one edge under what looked like a small sake bottle. Inside the bottle was two single Camomiles. They were beautiful in their simplicity. Their delicate white petals swaying gently in the breeze from the open window.

With a small smile Nanao looked back at the note. It was from her missing Captain. It read:

Nanao-chan. Congratulations on your promotion to Vice-Captain. Feel free to start where ever you like. I will see you in the office after noon.

P.S. I hope you like the flowers.

Nanao dropped into the vacant Captain's Chair and just shook her head in bewilderment. "Start wherever I like. I have no Idea where to start," Nanao thought to herself. She glanced behind herself and was reminded of all the paperwork that had yet to be done. I guess that that is where I should start. Sighing in resignation to her task she picked up half a stack and brought it back to the desk. After finding a brush and ink in the first drawer on her left she set about her first task as Vice-Captain.

Having filled out a total of two forms Nanao came to the conclusions that she needed some instructions on the proper way to fill out these forms. They were very confusing. She also needed to find out just where all these forms needed to be sent after their completion. Deciding the most likely place to find the information that she sought was the Soul Society Library. Surely she would be able to find some help in it's massive collection. With this thought firmly in mind she set off for the library.

Once Nanao got to the library, she headed toward one of the many desks manned by library technicians. Someone would surely be able to help her find the knowledge she sorely needed. She enlisted the help of a technician she knew very well. Keiko-sempai after hearing the desperation in her voice, led her to the section that housed the knowledge she needed.

After an hour of searching through many books on the regulations of Interoffice Paperwork she chose three volumes to take back to the office. It looked like they would be able to clear up her confusion. She took them back to the desk to check them out. Waiting for the shinigami in front of her to finish she gazed around at all of the books on the desk waiting to be checked in and placed on their proper shelves. One of those books caught her eye and she moved to get a closer look.

It was one of the smaller volumes, and on it's cover was a collection of beautiful flowers. It was titled The Secret Language of flowers. This caused her to think of the two Camomiles her new Captain had left for her back in the office. Nanao concluded that Captain Kyouraku might like flowers and that this might be a good topic of conversation she picked up the small tome and added it to her new collection.

After checking out her books Nanao went back to her new office and sat back down at the desk. She placed the small book about flowers in the top drawer and proceeded to open the largest. After reading the Chapter on form completion, she set about continuing with the paperwork.

Shunsui was standing at the door to the office. Since his new Vice-Captain had left it open he had a great view of her bent low over the desk. She was diligently attempting to complete some of the paperwork that had piled up after his last Vice-Captain had left. She was so caught up in it that she hadn't even noticed his arrival. He just stood there and watched her for a few minutes before clearing his throat to announce his presence. She was so deep in concentration that she jumped when she heard the sound and looked up. He saw her eyes widen in surprise when she saw him.

When Nanao looked up she saw a man standing in the doorway leaning against the frame. He was wearing a bright pink hoari that had flowers embroidered on it over his black uniform. He was also carrying a straw hat. Wondering what this man could possibly want with her, she asked, "May I help you?"

To her utter surprise he replied, "I should hope so. You are my new Vice-Captain after all."

Barely managing to preserve some of her dignity after those words sank in, she quickly stood up and bowed to her new Captain, "Sir. I deeply apologize for my lack of respect it was not intended."

Shunsui took in her position and her words with a sigh, "Nanao-chan it is quite alright. After all my beautiful haori covers my Captain's Coat and I understand that you are new. Please continue what you were doing. I'm just going to take a short nap."

Nanao was not sure why her Captain would address her in the familiar or take a nap when he just got into the office, but she didn't wish to offend him further so she sat back down and continued with her paperwork.

It was about six o'clock when Shunsui finally realized that he was going to have to tell his new Vice-Captain that her first day was over and that she could go home. She had taken only three short breaks since he had came in, and those were just to go and get a cup of tea. If she continued to work these long hours he was afraid that she wouldn't last very long and he would get into trouble again.

When her Captain told her that she was free to leave Nanao hesitated while looking at the enormity of paperwork still stacked along the walls. She had been able to make a dent in it though. She finally agreed and collected her book and headed toward the door.

Shunsui stopped her halfway there though and thrust the flowers he had gotten her into her hands, and stated, "These are yours."

She quietly replied, "Thank You, Sir," and headed for her new quarters in Squad Eight.

She entered her new quarters and promptly put on a pot of tea. Her first day had not been nearly as bad as she had feared, except for that one small misunderstanding. She smiled as she gazed at the Camomiles Captain Kyouraku had given her, replaying the events of the day in her mind. When her tea was ready she took her cup, her flower, and the small book over to her favorite overstuffed chair and sat down to learn the secret language of flowers.

Since she had just received some Camomiles she decided to see if they had a secret meaning. The book was arranged in alphabetical order so she had no trouble finding them.

A small smile played over her lips as she read the meaning behind her flowers. Initiative and Ingenuity. She just sat and thought of her New Captain and his flowers for a few minutes and wondered if he new what they stood for. She thought of the wisdom in his chocolate eyes and she was sure that he knew exactly what they meant.

She couldn't help but thing that she just might have to have some initiative and ingenuity in her new position as his Vice-Captain.

With that smile firmly in place Nanao picked up the small book and her flowers and moved to her desk. She retrieved her new journal from the top drawer and opened it. It was a gift from her best friend Rangiku Matsumoto. Rangiku had given it to her for her promotion, and she knew just what to write in it. She opened it to the first page and wrote the date at the top. Under it she wrote Initiative and Ingenuity. She then plucked one of the blooms off her flower and placed it at the bottom of the page. When she was done she closed the journal pressing the bloom flat so that it would be preserved.

After returning the journal to it's proper place she went to get ready for bed thinking, "I think I like The Secret Language of Flowers."

Little did she know that that was the beginning of a long and loved tradition.

Author's Note: I'm sorry if this was boring but it is the beginning of the tradition. Please read and rate. Please let me know if I should continue to add chapters. Feedback is appreciated.

The meanings of the flowers were found at . They have a great list. You can go check it out.