Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU and in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Dancing With Myself

Shunsui Kyoraku sighed as he absent mindedly watched the skaters on the ice. At twenty-eight, he was an experienced ice dancer with several national and world titles under his belt. The only thing he was really missing was a trip to the Olympics. And therein lay his current problem. It was going to be an Olympic year, and he had no partner. His partner of the past three years had retired last year and was now pregnant with her first child. And Shunsui hadn't been able to find a partner since Yoruichi had retired. Oh, there had been attempts, but there had been no one who had really clicked right with him.

He sighed again as he watched Rangiku Matsumoto work through her short program. Rangiku was one of the best ladies skaters they had this year. He frowned a little when he realized she was working on her arm movements with another woman. She was dark haired and petite and had lovely, fluid motions. Shunsui didn't recognize her, and he knew most of the skaters on the circuit no matter what event they competed in. He kept an eye on her as Rangiku continued practice. The woman, once done with Ran, seemed to me working on a program of her own.

The man sitting next to him seemed to notice his interest. "That's Nanao Ise. She's a dead weight I'm afraid. The girl can't jump at all, so she's useless in competition. The only reason she was picked up at all was the fact that her half-sister's Lisa Yadomaru. People were hoping that Ise would be another champion ladies skater like her, but she's been nothing but a disappointment. I'm not sure why they haven't just cut her loose at this point."

"I see." Shunsui frowned a little, keeping his opinions to himself.

He knew who Lisa Yadomaru was of course. She'd been the five time national champion and had only turned professional two years ago. Shunsui could see physical similarities between the two women, but their skating styles were quite different. Lisa was a jumping powerhouse while Nanao was extremely artistic in her programs. He continued to watch her practice. It was true that all of the jumps she attempted were singled or doubled. Actually, her managing a double anything was rare. But when it came to her footwork or spiral sequences, Nanao was amazing. Fluid, artistic, elegant, the woman was a born dancer.

Most everyone else had left by the time Rangiku started working on her exhibition routine. The music she had chosen was bright and bubbly and extremely well suited to Rangiku. When she finished running through that, Rangiku skated over to the sideboards were Nanao had been watching. Shunsui couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was clear that Rangiku was trying to persuade Nanao of something. Nanao finally seemed to give in, and she joined Rangiku on the ice.

A minute later Dancing Queen was playing over the speakers. Rangiku and Nanao linked hands and began what was obviously a beginner's ice dance. It looked like the type of thing you learned in intermediate skating lessons. As Shunsui watched, it was clear where each woman's strengths were. Rangiku looked like a figure skater who was just playing around with someone else's ice dance routine. Nanao looked like an ice dancer. And Shunsui knew at that moment that he wanted her for his new partner. He didn't care how inexperienced she was or how little time they would have to get ready for this season's competitions. Nanao was the perfect choice.

Now all he had to do was convince her.