It was rare that the other women of the Eighth Division convinced their hard working and serious lieutenant, Ise Nanao, to come to the bathhouse with them for a much needed break, but today was one of the few days they had. And already it seemed that it was working wonders on the sometimes uptight woman. They were conversing on an equal field, as though they had all been friends and comrades for longer than they really had. Such camaraderie was rare for this group of women when the lieutenant was present, because they often worried about what they could or could not say in her presence. It was not the case this time, though. Nanao had thrown herself headlong into the frivolous conversations for the first time, laughing with the others and even offering her own insightful advice when a small but loyal unseated member mentioned that she kind of liked someone but was uncertain about his feelings. Normally, this woman frowned upon intra-divisional relationships, but when this was brought up, she simply smiled and said that things change, and that she, who had no personal experience in such a thing, had had no right to look down on them before.

It came as a surprise that their lieutenant had not had such experience, and so that was the next topic of conversation. Although mildly uncomfortable with all the focus on her, the lieutenant let the hot waters soothe her and explained that she had only had one relationship, and it had not lasted very long in the first place. She also stated that it had ended on a bad note, a very bad note, and that she did not want to drudge up memories that were long dead and gone. As was her custom, the dark haired woman then turned to another of her subordinates, and asked slyly how her date with another member of the division had gone. The now targeted member flushed, but the result was as Nanao had hoped. The eyes that had been focused on her now switched to the other woman.

The lieutenant sighed and briefly withdrew from the conversation. Yes, it was true she didn't involve herself in social affairs like this very often. She felt it was a distraction from her work, but sometimes this was just the thing to calm her stress and her frazzled nerves. It was one thing to work diligently as she did every day, but to do so without a break such as this for months on end was something she did consistently and sometimes regretted. As she soaked her weary and sore muscles in the water, she made herself a promise to do this more often, even if that meant taking an afternoon out of each month. It felt nice to be even slightly involved socially with her female companions, to be a little more loosened up around them than she would have ever before allowed herself to be.

Letting out another sigh, Nanao dunked herself under the water just briefly, letting it wash over her, before surfacing again. She could not deny that this was nice. And it helped her somewhat to hear what the other women, as few as they were, had to share about relationships. With the only man who ever openly showed an interest in her, it was hard to tell whether or not he was joking or whether he was sincere in his affections. She could just confront him, but that would be an awkward conversation for a lieutenant to have with her captain.

For the next forty-five minutes, the twelve other women talked and laughed, with Nanao occasionally pitching in her opinions or insights. She could see that the other women found this a change from her usual, withdrawn self, but she also realized that they didn't mind the change. She would probably find her change a pleasant one, too, if she was one of her own subordinates. Nanao knew that she was uptight and tightly strung sometimes, and that her underlings often came across her when she was in that state, but she didn't want that to taint their thoughts of her. Most of the time, she had been antagonized by Kyouraku Shunsui, their captain.

Not that she particularly minded.

Inwardly, she groaned, remembering before the sound came out that she was in company and she did not want anyone but her to know her true feelings for the man on her mind just yet.

Ise Nanao had finally come to terms with the fact that she was in love with Kyouraku Shunsui. So it wasn't a surprise that her views on intra-divisional relationships had been somewhat…altered.

Just as the women were finally deciding to end their rendezvous in the bathhouse, a crash resounded, and the ceiling began to cave in. Nanao, with a towel around her and her glasses freshly cleaned from the steam, instantly went into lieutenant mode.

"Everyone, stay calm!" she shouted, searching the dust from the collapse for the cause. A hulking black figure, clinging to the ceiling, slowly became visible. When the dust fully cleared, the most grotesque hollow that Nanao had ever seen came into view, and she blanched, but leaned over to the next highest seat other than her and said in a low voice, "Get everyone out, and then find someone to help. Someone who actually has their Zanpakuto with them. Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes, Lieutenant!" she said, but then added, "are you sure? I don't want to leave you alone!"

"Just get out!" Nanao hissed, clutching her towel tighter around her and blasting a Shakkaho at the hollow. He dodged quickly, and leered down at her as the subordinate she'd spoken to quickly gathered the others and they left discreetly.

The hollow's eyes narrowed, and it asked, in a hoarse and raspy voice that made Nanao wince - the voice of a pervert - it asked, "Why do you challenge me alone, Soul Reaper? You have no Zanpakuto with you, yet you try to attack me."

"I am Lieutenant Ise Nanao of the Eighth Division," Nanao said sharply, using a safety pin that she had been holding a tear in her shihakusho together with to hold her towel so she had both hands. "I would not run from small fry like you."

It laughed, and lunged, Nanao dodged, and it created a hole in the side of the bathhouse to accompany the one it had made on the roof. Nanao took this momentary distraction as a chance to shunpo to the other side of the room, and took to reciting an incantation. Just as she finished, the hollow rushed through the hole he had made and right at her. She released the kidou, and it struck a glancing blow as the hollow dodged. She cursed. It was faster than she had thought.

Nanao tried to dodge, and would have been successful if it hadn't stuck out its barbed tongue and caught her thigh. She stumbled on her landing, but turned around and cast another Shakkaho blast without an incantation. As she had this time expected, it dodged and hissed at her.

Blood trickled down her leg, staining the lower left portion of her white towel a vermilion shade of red. She grimaced, but prepared to fire another Shakkaho until, suddenly, she realized the hollow was no longer there. Or at least, it wasn't the same shape. It morphed and undulated until, suddenly, it was like a human in shape. It had yellow eyes and a cruel, bloodthirsty grin.

"Well, Lieutenant Ise Nanao, you look absolutely…delicious…"

It lunged again, and this time its speed was much greater. It took a lot for Nanao just to block his rapid strikes with a kidou shield. Finally, he struck her in the stomach and sent her through the wall of the bathhouse, but still she landed on her feet. Her wet hair clung to her face, shoulders, and neck as she straightened, watching the hollow - which now resembled one of the arrancar - as it came nearer.

She tried another kidou, but he dodged it completely and had her by the neck. He grinned in a feral manner and held the tip of a sword to her throat. It wasn't a Zanpakuto, but a traditional Japanese sword. He let it slide down to where her towel was held together by the safety pin.

"Is the rest of you as delicious to look at as your blood smells?" he breathed in her ear. Somehow, she had been cornered against the wall of the damaged bathhouse.

She blasted him off of her with an unsuspected Shakkaho. It didn't seem to hurt him that much, but it got him off her like she had planned. She then hurried the incantation for another spell, and ran away from the wall as she cast it at him. She didn't want to be cornered like that again…in such a vulnerable state. He growled as it caught his left arm, and he turned his glowing yellow eyes to the panting, frustrated Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant Ise," he said lowly, shifting his stance. He was going to charge her, and with her leg, she knew she wouldn't be able to get away. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to finish you now, so I can know the answer to my question without interference. You've badly damaged my pride."

"To Hell with your pride!" Nanao retorted, though she had no means to defend herself. Her constant use of kidou was weakening her.

There was a puff of dust where the hollow - perhaps a remnant of the arrancars? - had once stood, and then she was blasted forward from a blast of energy. She couldn't bite back her shout, but she turned to face him, knowing her upper back would now be visible. Burnt tatters of that portion of towel rained down upon her, and she had to bring an arm up to hold her towel in the front.

"That's going to bruise," she murmured darkly. She dodged the next similar blast just in time, but her glasses cracked from the impact and fell from her face. Her vision wasn't horrible without them, but it wouldn't help her.

Vehemently, she cursed under her breath and used shunpo to reach the other side of the bathhouse, where it was a little brighter and her vision just slightly better for it.

"You still face me," her opponent laughed, "even when you don't stand a chance, Lieutenant. You should never have chosen to fight me without your Zanpakuto."

"At least I achieved my objective!" she yelled. "Everyone else got away from you, did they not?"

Then, a blur approached her and she tried to move, but there was a hand around her neck before she could even get an inch away.

"So that's your motive," he hissed. "Perhaps I shall humiliate you while you yet live, then…"

The blade of his sword, she felt rather than saw, started to cut her towel.

That is, until something pink fell over her shoulders and a blade seemed to sprout from her enemy's chest. An arm held her, nose-to-chest, against her rescuer, and she clutched the familiar pink haori tighter around her as the towel gave way and slid to the ground.

"No one," his familiar voice rumbled, filled with anger, "And I mean no one - touches my sweet little Nanao."

His arm tightened around her, and she realized he must only be using one of his blades. She felt his arm jerk upwards, and the shriek of the hollow that followed only confirmed her suspicions that the hollow had just been done away with by her furious captain.

"Nanao," he said then, "are you hurt?"

"N-not badly," she managed. She was angry with herself for stuttering.

"Let's get you to the Fourth anyway," he said decisively, and before she could even say anything, she was swept, bridal-style, into his arms and he proceeded to carry her to the Fourth Division. She bit back her protests and just held the flowery haori together over herself, leaning into her captain's chest for the warmth and the protective feeling she got.

"Thank you, Captain," she said softly, her face buried in his chest so her voice came out muffled.

"Shh, my little Nanao," he said, coming to a halt. "We're here at the Fourth, now. Let's get you attended to."

Ise Nanao was bandaged up quickly, but in that time her captain had left a message with Captain Unohana Retsu that he could be found handling Nanao's paperwork along with his own and that he should be alerted when she awoke. Nanao asked the Fourth captain to allow her to return on her own, because she wanted to thank her own captain in the privacy of the Eighth Division's office. With a gentle smile, Captain Unohana agreed with her request without even asking a single question.

So that landed Nanao outside of the office, trying to figure out what to say while also suppressing her reiatsu. She wanted to surprise her captain.

Finally, she took a deep breath, adjusted her new glasses and her new shihakusho, holding the folded and cleaned pink haori in her arms, and slid open the door to the office. She purposefully stepped in and closed the door behind her. Captain Kyouraku still hadn't looked up, so focused was he upon his work for once.

"Captain Kyouraku," Nanao broke the silence, and he jumped up at the sound of her voice. As she had decided, she bowed with her arms outstretched, offering him the flower patterned haori as she said, "Thank you for rescuing me earlier. If it weren't for your timely appearance, I would probably no longer be here and alive. I owe you my life, Sir."

He was on his feet, and he lifted the haori from her hands. She looked up and was surprised to see him completely discard it onto the couch. If that had surprised the normally imperturbable lieutenant, then his next action did, too. He took her into his arms, holding her close against him, rather than his usual words about how he was glad she was okay and his flirtation. None of that this time. He just held her close to him, and she let him do so for the first time.

"I'm just glad I got there in time, Nanao," he said, and she could hear the seriousness in his tone. One of his large hands was running through her hair, which she just noticed was still down, and it was a very soothing, calming feeling. "No one should see what you want to keep private until you let them."

"I'm glad you got there, too," she let herself say, reaching up and fisting her hands in the front of his captain's haori. She let her face be buried in his chest again, her shoulders shaking. It wasn't until this moment that she realized not only had he saved her life, but his timely arrival and the lending of his flowered haori had saved her modesty, as well.

They soon found themselves on the couch. Shunsui had pulled his dear little Nanao onto his lap and kept his arms around her and she let him, burrowing into the comfort that being so near him offered. It was so calming to be in his presence, in his arms, that she began to drift off to sleep. Once she had fallen asleep, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. She stirred slightly, but didn't open her eyes.

He wouldn't know until a few months later that she had been awake, if barely, when he murmured against her hair, "I love you, my dear little Nanao."

To herself, with a smile, Nanao thought, I love you too, Captain.

Thank you for saving my modesty.

It was six years later to the day that Lieutenant Ise Nanao decided to finally let someone see what she had kept hidden under clothes for years - aside from when she bathed. And to who else but Kyouraku Shunsui?

It was their wedding night, after all.