Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ The Many Faces of Revenge ❯ A Promise Kept ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“Your punishment for your crimes against Seireitei and it’s allies will be exile. However, due to our own ignorance in your imprisonment, we can not send you to the usual exile lands. You will be sent, instead, to the living world. You will be allowed to keep the current gigai you embody. Do you understand this ruling?” Yamamoto asked, his smoky voice raised to allow all assembled to hear.
The man, who they now knew as Tetsuya, only watched. His gaze was stoic, taking the punishment handed to him without objection. He knew that he deserved it, for his attacks against the Shinigami, some of them not even responsible for his imprisonment. Despite his outwardly passive appearance, his mind had been on one thing for the last couple of days. Tomorrow would be the day his Hisako would give up. The two he had confessed to had barely spoken to him since he’d told them. They had advised him on the proceedings for his trial and such, otherwise…silence.
Not that he could blame them. Especially the woman. He had been rather out of line. He had seen bits and pieces of the true relationship the two had, though they tried hard to hide it. It was far from what he’d assumed. A part of him felt the need to apologize, but that would make it uncomfortable for all involved. Besides, it seemed that all of those formalities had been taken care of as more of an unspoken understanding.
At least the Taichou and Fukutaichou that had taken care of him seemed to understand. He couldn’t understand why they were so forgiving and kind to him. They’d made sure his accommodations were much more comfortable and far from the twelfth squad labs where he’d been locked up for the last century. They had also been the ones to suggest that his punishment be a bit more mellow than what was originally in mind for him.
The two were even gracious enough to accompany him to the real world. They had arranged for a way to provide for himself as well as a place to stay. It wasn’t much, the woman had told him, but it would help him get on his feet.
Nanao, he reminded himself. Her name was Nanao. He was trying to remember that they were more than just Shinigami. Nanao and her Taichou, in particular, had been nicer to him then they needed to be. It had been their idea to set him up with work and home, otherwise he would have been tossed through the Senkai gate to fend for himself. He owed them at least a small amount of respect.
They had both opted to remain as they were rather than take up gigai and have to wear clothes to fit the part. It would only be a short trip. Make sure he was settled in and go home. He doubted he would ever hear from them again after that. They had no reason to keep in contact after all. He wouldn’t if he was in their position.
“We are going to introduce you to one of our contacts here in Karakura town.” Nanao informed him as they walked toward their destination. “Should anything dire arise that requires Seireitei to intervene, he will be the one you speak to. He’s also a substitute Shinigami so he is more than capable of handing said problems. His father runs a medical clinic, which is where you will be working until you can find a more permanent job.” She continued, all business.
Although he was listening to her every word, it didn’t show. Whatever they had planned for him would be better than the hole he’d spent the last century in. It was what it was and there was no sense in bemoaning his fate. They were being very gracious given the circumstances.
As they neared the clinic, Ichigo was waiting for them, leaning against the low fence at the front. He looked annoyed at having to do this, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Alright, can we just get this over with. I’d rather my dad not know I was up to anything. You’re the big brother of a class mate who’s just lost his job, got it? Don’t forget it either. And you’d better work hard or my dad will never trust me again.” He warned, right away establishing his authority in all of this.
“You and this chick have put a serious pain in my ass.” He grumbled, leading them inside.
“Chick? Is there someone else you’ve hired?” Tetsuya asked, a little confused. Shunsui waited outside with Nanao, who was oddly smiling.
“Yeah, Hisako something or other.” He said, waving it off as he closed the door behind them.
“I missed you, Tetsuya.” A soft voice said from the side of the room. He could hardly breath as the woman of his dreams came into the light.
Her blond hair had a soft wave, kept now in a bun at the nape of her neck, a few loose strands tucked behind her hair. The yellow day dress she wore made her deep purple eyes bright and brilliant. Her skin was still slightly pale and sickly, her form thin beneath the dress that she couldn’t quite fill out. Still, she was much improved from the skeleton he’d left a month ago.
“Uh, yeah…her.” Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and left quickly, not wanting to witness the reunion he’d been warned about.
“Hisako.” He breathed, moving toward her quickly. His hand moved to her warm cheek, drinking in the loving gaze she laid on him. “How did you get here?” He asked, barely able to form the words.
“Two days ago a young Shinigami named Hitsugaya found me. Three others were with him. His own subordinate and another Taichou and fukutaichou. I never caught their names, but I would certainly recognize him again. He was a big man in pink.” She smiled, finding the whole idea amusing. “Hitsugaya said that his helping them find me had been a personal favor to the big man. They had to, essentially, sneak me out. They brought me here and Ichigo’s father nursed me back to health.” She explained, her hands on his chest, fingers splayed wide. Her slim body pressed against him.
“I wanted to see you right away but they said to be patient and I would get to be with you soon. It was well worth the wait. Kurosaki says that I can help in the clinic as well if I’d like. The exercise will do me good he thinks.” She smiled. After a few moments she touched his chin with the pad of her finger, eyes sparkling. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Moving his head slightly, he kissed her finger, then pulled her in close to kiss her lips. “Hisako, I thought I would never see you again. I have no idea what to say in the slightest. I never imagined being able to have a life with you. Stupidly…I thought you would be dead. I didn’t think they would go looking for you. I didn’t think they would be allowed to save you.” He murmured.
She smiled and shook her head. “I knew it would work out.” She assured him. “It had to. A real life has been so long in coming, it was bound to happen.”
He laughed slightly and shook his head, still unable to take his eyes off of her. “How could you still be so optimistic? After all that we’ve been through?” He asked gently.
“Because of you. Thinking about where I was at the time, what was happening would have had me dead a long time ago. Instead, I kept thinking about what our lives could be. How happy we would be together if we ever got out of that dark hole. It was the only way to keep sane.” She explained with a soft shrug. “And I was right. Things will be alright now. You’ll see.”
“But I didn’t keep my promise for you. If that man hadn’t called in a favor and went to get you, you’d be dead.” He argued.
“Just because you didn’t come get me yourself doesn’t mean you didn’t keep your promise. You gave up your pride and your need for revenge for me. You told them what had happened, gave yourself over to their punishment. If you hadn’t done that, they wouldn’t have known that I even existed or where to look for me. In the end, you did come and get me. You may not have done it with a direct request or order, but you sent people to come and get me. And they made sure I was safe until you could come and see me yourself. That’s good enough for me. You’ve always been good enough for me.” She assured him, kissing him lovingly.
“I couldn’t love anyone more than I love you, Hisako.” He smiled. “But if you’ll excuse me for a moment…there’s someone that I have to thank.” He said, kissing her again before releasing her from his arms.
The two were still waiting outside. Apparently they’d known he would want to come and talk to them. They hadn’t noticed that he was coming however, seemingly distracted by each other. Shunsui was standing before Nanao, teasing the tips of her hair as he stood over her. She was smiling, ever so slightly, nodding at whatever he was saying.
Catching him from the corner of her eye, she immediately took a step away and cleared her throat, nodding in his direction. The big man smiled, unperturbed by the distractions, unlike his fukutaichou who seemed quiet embarrassed.
“Why did you do that? She says that you called in a favor to find and smuggle her out. That was taking a rather big risk, wasn’t it?”
He smiled and shrugged his broad shoulders. “If we’d told the whole tale of who you were and where you’d come from there was no guarantee that we would have been allowed to find her. I didn’t think that it was worth the chance.”
“What wasn’t worth the chance?”
“Not being with the one you love.” He explained, winking at Nanao who ducked her head and intently examined her feet.
“We both decided that it would be worth the risk of getting in trouble. Even if we were caught, there would have been no choice but to let her go at that point. Either way, we fulfilled our objective and Hisako would be safe.” Nanao added.
“You’re both making it sound so insignificant, what you did for me.” Tetsuya said, almost annoyed at their reactions. “Like you went to go pick up groceries for me.”
“We’re decent people. What else would you expect?” Shunsui asked with a raised brow.
“I expected that you would just leave her to die.” He admitted freely, honestly.
“If we didn’t protect those who needed us the most, we wouldn’t be very good guardians of the innocent, would we?” Shunsui pointed out. Nanao nodded in agreement, pushing up her glasses as she looked up at him.
“As my Taichou explained. Everyone deserves a chance to be with the one they love.” She reiterated. “And yours is waiting for you. We need to be getting back to Soul Society.”
“We do?” Shunsui asked, pouting slightly.
“Mm, paperwork.” She said simply, nodding to him. Shunsui waved and laid a hand on the small of her back, leading her away. He could hear the two of them arguing about the paperwork that would need to be done when they returned and who would be doing it.
“Thanks.” He said to their backs before heading back into the clinic where Hisako would be waiting for him.

With the paperwork finished and the whole ordeal behind them, Shunsui retired with Nanao to her own private quarters. He relaxed and waited patiently while she bathed and changed into something more comfortable. He discarded his haori’s for the sake of comfort as he relaxed on her futon. It was already dark outside, the stars and moon shining brightly over Seireitei, as if congratulating them on their accomplishment.
Shunsui had to admit that he did feel accomplished. Not just for solving the mystery of the assassin, that would have come with time he was sure. But for solving the assassin’s problem. He’d helped two lovers reunite and that was a very good feeling. He smiled as his Nanao-chan joined him, sitting down beside him and handing him a cup of tea.
He took a small sip and smiled happily, letting out a contented sigh. “So, adorable Nanao-chan. How do you feel about all of this?” He asked curiously, pulling her to him, forcing her to lay against his chest under the protection of his arm.
“I feel like we’ve done some good, even if we would get in trouble should anyone find out.”
“I’m proud of you, Nanao-chan. You didn’t let that get in your way. I thought for sure you would have objected slightly, at least pointed out the risk we were taking.”
“I had thought of it. But you were right that something needed to be done. It made a good learning experience I think. After seeing what those two had gone through, I know better than to take for granted the things that I have. The people in my life who care about me. Mainly you.” She admitted, taking another sip of tea. She looked so different with her hair down, he wasn’t sure he would ever get used to seeing his Nanao-chan so relaxed.
“I’m glad you’ve finally come to that realization.” He said, somewhat proudly.
“What do you mean, finally? You could have helped a little in the relationship too you know. Instead of acting like a little boy with a crush. You could have been more of an adult.” She pointed out, nudging his ribs with her elbow.
“That’s true, I could have.” He agreed. “But, as with our assassin and his maiden. It all worked out in the end, don’t you think?” “I don’t know. We’re going to have to wait for the end to determine that.” She pointed out, ever the rational thinker.
“But I should have known.” He laughed, the rumble deep in his chest. “My sweet Nanao-chan, I hope you never change.”
“And risk the chance of not being able to annoy you? I think not.” She said, taking another sip of tea, the steam fogging her glasses for a brief moment. It gave him enough time to sneak in for a kiss.
“My lovely, beautiful, feisty Nanao-chan.” He smiled against her lips.
“Yes, Taichou?”
“Oh, nothing.” He grinned and squeezed her against him, hearing her sharp intake of breath as her tea sloshed and threatened to spill over.
“Taichou.” She said sternly, looking up at him from over the rim of her glasses.
He laughed and loosened his grip on her. “You haven’t changed yet.” He observed, kissing the top of her still wet head.
He was looking forward to whatever their relationship might have to offer. They had both learned from Tetsuya and Hisako. They could keep their relationship a secret so long as they didn’t take each other for granted. He had come to realize that his Nanao-chan had not been changed by his affections. She was still a fierce fukutaichou of the thirteen squads. A force to be reckoned with whether he wanted to admit it or not. He had started training with her as promised and knew that she studied Kidou nightly. He had learned well that though he was worried for her, that in no way meant that she wasn’t capable all of the sudden. She was an addition to his life, not an accessory.
A beautiful addition. He watched her quietly as she fairly ignored him, sipping her tea against the warmth of his body. She’d known that all the time, he was sure. In her own way, she’d tried to show him, but it had taken her straightforward anger to make him see it. A slap in the face as it was. He trusted she would continue to keep him in line, just as she always had.
Just like Tetsuya and Hisako, as long as he had her, he could endure anything. There would be trying times ahead and between the two of them, they would make it through. With a happy sigh, she snuggled into him and set aside her tea, closing her eyes.
Happily, he held her against him. Tomorrow would be another day and the start of another story, another hardship. For now he would enjoy the quiet and the calm. The presence of his Nanao-chan. For tonight, at least, all was right with the world.