Log #1 - Where's Waldo?
WHO: Chad, Nanao
WHAT: Misdirected by her subordinates who don't want their drinking party canceled, Nanao's search for Captain Kyouraku takes her to the living world where Chad offers a helping hand.
WHERE: Karakura Town, City Park
Chad sits quietly along at a bench along the edge of the pond. For all his concerns about getting stronger, it seems he also still has attention left over for schoolwork, his backpack set next to the bench and a book in his lap, a sheet of paper covering one side that he occasionally scratches notes onto with a pen. He futiley combs his hair back once with one hand only to have it flop back down before he keeps writing and reading.
So this is the human world. Nanao has been here a few times (though not necessarily in Karakura Town) during her academy days, learning to dispatch Hollows and perform konsou for a few wayward spirits. But it's been a very long time since she set foot on the soil of the human world. The lieutenant touches down on the grass of the park, arriving via flash step. A brief look around confirms it: her captain isn't here.
Irritation bubbles inside of her, made evident to the outside observer only by the faintest twitch of her pencil-thin eyebrow. Is he masking his reiatsu with some sort of special gigai? Why can she not pinpoint his reiatsu?
It's a wonder that Nanao is here at all. And what is the reason for this visit? Well. She happened to set foot on the future grounds of an 8th Division drinking party, where a handful of her subordinates were preparing to set up. Knowing that she would disapprove and likely shut the whole thing down, they made mention that Captain Kyouraku had gone to the living world for a special kind of sake when she inquired after his whereabouts. She'd frowned at that (as they'd expected), and immediately departed to fetch a Hell Butterfly. The 8th Division gave themselves a hearty pat on the back and started carting in the sake.
So now she's here, looking decidedly unhappy and more than a little lost while humans pass her by without even so much as a glance. She has no gigai, so the only one who would see her would be someone with a high level of spiritual energy.
Someone like Chad.
Chad sucks in a gasping breath when he feels the presence of Nanao's arrival, but otherwise doesn't display any reaction passerbys might be able to pick up on. In no particular hurry, he marks the point where he left off in the book and looks up to catch sight of the vaguely irritated Shinigami checking the park over. Certainly not wanting to give the impression he's a crazy man talking to himself, he sets the book down and stands, which is probably enough by itself to make him stand out and get her attention. Still he walks over closer, giving the impression he's taking a break from his studies as he gives his knuckles a crack and slows his steps as he walks near her, calling under his breath, "Yo, looking for something?" Still not wanting to stand still and be caught mumbling under his breath, he keeps walking towards a water fountain sticking up near the path and bends down to take a drink, aware she doesn't need to keep her own voice low.
It's rare that Chad's height would catch Nanao's attention before the feel of his own reiatsu. She can blame her worry for the captain as far as that goes. She turns faintly in his direction, then blinks, her eyes widening faintly in recognition. Oh, the ryoka! ...Well, not a ryoka any longer, she reminds herself, turning to follow his movements.
"Ah... Yes. I'm looking for Captain Kyouraku. Have you seen him?" She wonders for a moment why he's talking so quietly, but only for a moment. She's not used to being 'invisible' to people.
Nanao recognizes him at once...you don't forget a fellow like that easily. But as far as his name goes, she really...doesn't...remember...
Chad doesn't even recognize her at first seeing as she stuck to the shadows that fight until he lost consciousness and bled out. As he wipes his mouth and stands back up, he leans against the fountain, waiting until a few other folks have passed before he speaks again. "No. What would a Captain be doing here, has there been some sort of emergency?" Chad asks, not having had any sense of any major Hollow presences today, and unable to think of any other reason a Shinigami Captain would come to the real world. Surely not to buy sake. With the crowds thinned a bit for now, he turns his head down to look at her and gets a faint tingling of recognition, perhaps having spied her out of the corner of his eye during his short-lived battle, but unable to actually place it. "Have we met?" he bluntly asks after.
Nanao can't...answer that. As irresponsible as the captain may be (or not be, in this case, though she doesn't know it), she isn't the type to complain about him. Not even if there's no one who would report back. "I see," she replies, disappointment edging over her features.
She straightens at his question, snapping back to her strict, military posture. "Not formally," she replies. "Lieutenant Ise Nanao." The one who almost nuked your @#$ while you were unconscious. She nods curtly at Chad, looking rather tiny beside a man who's probably two feet taller than she is.
"Oh, you're his lieutenant," Chad says simply, certainly not sounding the least bit impressed nor reacting to her stiffened posture as he keeps to his lazy lean. But he does reach a massive hand out and holds it before her for a handshake, something he picked up living in Mexico and rumbles, "Yasutora Sado, most folks call me Chad though. Did you want help finding him?" he politely offers, the way Nanao had been glancing on arrival telling him she hadn't a clue where to go.
Most other shinigami would refuse the help of a human. But Nanao's worried, and she witnessed this man fight valiantly. He holds her respect, now that she knows his intentions held no ill. "I would appreciate that, Chad-san," she replies, placing her hand in his after a moment of study. An unusual greeting, one that the 1st Division's lieutenant has practiced before, so she's not entirely at a loss for what to do. Her hand, though small, maintains a firm and professional grip. "I was informed that he had come here to purchase a high-quality bottle of sake. But I am unsure where such things are sold."
Chad is careful not to crush her hand in his grip and after he lets go places his hands in his pockets and starts to head back towards the bench where his books lay, relying on her to keep pace. "Sake? Well, a lot of places in town sell that. Some umm, more...clean than others," Chad finally settles on saying, thinking of some of the seedier booze stores. Scratching at his chin with a finger he comments after, "Guess he probably wouldn't go to a low-class place though, that sorta narrows it down," bending over to gather his things as he puts his books back in the pack.
Nanao's face expresses her disappointment a little further. Still, she's not undaunted by this information. Nanao never gives up! She can't let something this simple hinder her duties. She does wonder just how many stores they'll end up visiting, though. "You have my gratitude," she replies with a faint nod. Not only because he'll be cutting her searching time exponentially by showing her which shops to investigate, but because this reduces her need to walk through walls and windows to seek her quarry. That's always an uncomfortable feeling.
Her interest is immediately captured by the books. She wouldn't have figured Chad to be interested in such things, and it improves her opinion vastly. She can always appreciate a fellow book enthusiast! "What are you reading?" Nanao asks curiously, unable to help herself.
"Hmm? Oh these are just my schoolbooks. Environmental science, European history. And 'Dante's Inferno' I'm doing an essay on," he displays, offering the book to her, featuring a cloaked man on the cover walking down stairs leading into a fiery crack in the Earth. "Kinda seems odd reading about the afterlife after being there," he admits as he shoulders his backpack and starts towards the park exit for town, but not before fishing a chocolate bar out of his backpack that he starts to munch on.
It's a good thing people aren't looking in Chad's direction, or they might be a little startled to see that book floating in midair as Nanao reaches to take it. She says nothing, though her interest is avidly reflected on her face as she examines the cover, and cracks open the book to leaf through a couple of pages. "I have not read this one..." She snaps it closed, adjusting her glasses (and keeping her enthusiasm in check). Nanao hands it back, since he still requires it for his essay. Otherwise she might ask to borrow it. "You are a student, then?" she asks as she keeps a steady pace beside the boy, unaware of just how young he really is. He looks more like a college student than one who would attend high school.
Chad takes the book back, unaware of any weirdness that has passed, the longer he spends with her making it harder to recall he's the only one that can perceive her. Tucking the back into his pack he nods and says, "It's interesting, all about the levels of Hell and Heaven. Though it's pretty clear the author never met a Shinigami," he admits as they step onto the sidewalk and meander through town, Chad having an easy time of it as people seem to have a tendency to want to get out of his way. "And yeah, you didn't know? All of us that came for Rukia are in the same class in high school," he explains, peering down at the smaller woman beside him, having a momentary vision of Uryuu before he raises his eyes back up and starts scanning for the nearest liquor store.
"High school?" Nanao seems taken aback at this information, her eyes wide behind oval lenses. How remarkable...not only is he a human with extraordinary power, but he's also very young. Imagine how powerful he'll become when he matures! "I see..." Another adjustment of the glasses tones down her expression of surprise. She really /does/ reflect a lot of Uryuu's habits, doesn't she? Not that she's met that particular boy... "I am impressed. I have never met a human with abilities such as yours. How did you learn them?"
A look of longing is briefly directed towards Chad's backpack. She won't be able to come here on her days off. Only those who have been assigned to the living world can requisition a gigai, and her duties are heavily administrative in nature. But if she ever runs into Rangiku, she may make a request for a collection of books. She's certain that Momo would like to read them as well.
"I didn't learn them so much as, they just sorta happened. I was always stronger than other people but, my arm couldn't change like that till the one day me and Ichigo's sister were attacked by a Hollow and then," Chad stops himself and shrugs. "It just happened I guess. I needed to protect her so I could," seeing nothing unusual in the tale. He finally stops as they draw up to the front doors of a Spirits shop, though certainly not of the ghost variety, pushing the door open and stepping inside, reminding himself at least not to look like he's holding the door open for anyone, but rather just slow in closing it. "I never could get into sake, my grandfather used to let me drink a little bit back in Mexico, always preferred their stuff," he confesses as he starts scanning the aisles.
That's right, she remembers now. Shunsui invited Chad to drink, and he'd refused on the grounds of being a minor. He really is much younger than she thought! She quickens her steps, staying close to Chad's side so he doesn't look too odd holding the door open. "Sake is...very popular in my division," Nanao replies. And she doesn't look particularly happy about it. Already she's skirting ahead, her head turning whip-quick left and right as she scans for signs of the captain. There are a few scruffy types here, she notes, but none of them possess Shunsui's reiatsu. If he /were/ inhabiting a gigai, he probably would have expressed open delight at Nanao's entrance. She sighs. Not this store, then.
The lieutenant returns to her tour guide with brisk steps. "Most unusual," she comments, picking up on the story of his powers where they left off. "And most fortunate, for your sake and hers. Ichigo is the one you are friends with, correct?" Chad had mentioned fighting for his sake, if she recalls.
"Really? I could probably buy you a bottle if you wanted, most folks do think I'm a lot older than I look. Or even some of the stuff from my family's old country," he offers, assuming that if sake is popular in her division, than she must like it too, missing that unhappy expression of her's as they head back towards the front of the store, making a rather more serene inspection for the Captain, though no less effective as he can see over many of the displays. His voice drops to a rather more respectful tone though as he continues speaking, "Yeah. Me and Ichigo, we're more like brothers really, promised to protect each other. Though I'd fight to save just about anyone if it came down to it, but...anyway yeah, we're close friends," he finally finishes.
"Er...no...that's all right," Nanao politely refuses, feeling the need to fix her glasses again. She drinks /very/ rarely, and only a little, solely in the company of the other lady lieutenants with whom she spends her free time with. She wouldn't even do that if not for Rangiku's dogged persistence to loosen up the stiff Nanao. "It would be illegal besides. I have no wish to get you into trouble." And that much is true.
This boy...it seems she misjudged him. All of them had...except for Shunsui. That man had a gift for reading people. She can see now why he elected to leave Chad alive, and she suspects it wasn't just for interrogation purposes. How does he do that?
As they draw near the door, Nanao once more keeps close to Chad, holding her elbows tightly at her sides.
Chad opens the door and steps back out with a hrrm as he wonders which place to try next. "I've been in worse trouble than an angry shopkeep before. You saw what your Captain did to me after all," Chad points out, no sense of rancor in his voice, recognizing both of them had just been doing what they thought was right at the time. They've only walked a short distance before he asks, "You sure he's in town? I got a pretty good feel for his spiritual energy when we fought and I mean..." he trails off, not wanting to call her wrong to her face but trying to avoid a wild goose chase through liquor shops if he can.
The light fall of her footsteps comes to a pause as Nanao draws still. Her face is stoic as she looks up at Chad, though Shunsui would have noted the worry she hides. "I was only told that he would be here. But I confess, I have been unable to pick up his reiatsu. It is possible that he's concealing himself..."
But, she realizes unhappily, not entirely likely. She recognizes Shunsui's spirit perhaps better than anyone, save Ukitake and Yamamoto. "Maybe he has returned by this point. I apologize for taking up your time," she says with a stiff bow. "And I thank you for your assistance."
"It was no trouble Nanao-san. I needed the company, everyone always tells me I need to talk more," Chad replies casually and actually features the barest hint of a smile. After a quick check both ways to make sure no one is looking, he returns the bow in kind and recalling her interest in his books earlier, offers, "If you ever come back, I can show you the local library perhaps. Bring a gigai and you could even check some books out, or I could for you so long as you bring them back in time."
Nanao has to admit that the offer is very, very tempting. Were it just for herself, she could probably deny herself the opportunity, and without regret. But she would like to see Momo back to her old cheerful self again, and some new books, earth books, might be just the thing she needs. "I would like that, Chad-san," she replies. And though he may smile, Nanao doesn't. The gratitude is there, though, and if he's astute, he can probably see it. "If you wish to talk more, I would be willing to listen." She's pretty good at it, after all.
A black butterfly dances about the two figures, and there on the sidewalk, the wooden doors with paper windows suddenly appear and slide back to reveal a bright light beyond. "I must be getting back to my duties. Thank you again for your time." The lady executes a sharp turn, moving to face the doors, and she slips through. The doors seal behind her, eclipsing her silhouette as she walks away, and disappear. The butterfly ascends to the blue skies above.
WHAT: Misdirected by her subordinates who don't want their drinking party canceled, Nanao's search for Captain Kyouraku takes her to the living world where Chad offers a helping hand.
WHERE: Karakura Town, City Park
Chad sits quietly along at a bench along the edge of the pond. For all his concerns about getting stronger, it seems he also still has attention left over for schoolwork, his backpack set next to the bench and a book in his lap, a sheet of paper covering one side that he occasionally scratches notes onto with a pen. He futiley combs his hair back once with one hand only to have it flop back down before he keeps writing and reading.
So this is the human world. Nanao has been here a few times (though not necessarily in Karakura Town) during her academy days, learning to dispatch Hollows and perform konsou for a few wayward spirits. But it's been a very long time since she set foot on the soil of the human world. The lieutenant touches down on the grass of the park, arriving via flash step. A brief look around confirms it: her captain isn't here.
Irritation bubbles inside of her, made evident to the outside observer only by the faintest twitch of her pencil-thin eyebrow. Is he masking his reiatsu with some sort of special gigai? Why can she not pinpoint his reiatsu?
It's a wonder that Nanao is here at all. And what is the reason for this visit? Well. She happened to set foot on the future grounds of an 8th Division drinking party, where a handful of her subordinates were preparing to set up. Knowing that she would disapprove and likely shut the whole thing down, they made mention that Captain Kyouraku had gone to the living world for a special kind of sake when she inquired after his whereabouts. She'd frowned at that (as they'd expected), and immediately departed to fetch a Hell Butterfly. The 8th Division gave themselves a hearty pat on the back and started carting in the sake.
So now she's here, looking decidedly unhappy and more than a little lost while humans pass her by without even so much as a glance. She has no gigai, so the only one who would see her would be someone with a high level of spiritual energy.
Someone like Chad.
Chad sucks in a gasping breath when he feels the presence of Nanao's arrival, but otherwise doesn't display any reaction passerbys might be able to pick up on. In no particular hurry, he marks the point where he left off in the book and looks up to catch sight of the vaguely irritated Shinigami checking the park over. Certainly not wanting to give the impression he's a crazy man talking to himself, he sets the book down and stands, which is probably enough by itself to make him stand out and get her attention. Still he walks over closer, giving the impression he's taking a break from his studies as he gives his knuckles a crack and slows his steps as he walks near her, calling under his breath, "Yo, looking for something?" Still not wanting to stand still and be caught mumbling under his breath, he keeps walking towards a water fountain sticking up near the path and bends down to take a drink, aware she doesn't need to keep her own voice low.
It's rare that Chad's height would catch Nanao's attention before the feel of his own reiatsu. She can blame her worry for the captain as far as that goes. She turns faintly in his direction, then blinks, her eyes widening faintly in recognition. Oh, the ryoka! ...Well, not a ryoka any longer, she reminds herself, turning to follow his movements.
"Ah... Yes. I'm looking for Captain Kyouraku. Have you seen him?" She wonders for a moment why he's talking so quietly, but only for a moment. She's not used to being 'invisible' to people.
Nanao recognizes him at once...you don't forget a fellow like that easily. But as far as his name goes, she really...doesn't...remember...
Chad doesn't even recognize her at first seeing as she stuck to the shadows that fight until he lost consciousness and bled out. As he wipes his mouth and stands back up, he leans against the fountain, waiting until a few other folks have passed before he speaks again. "No. What would a Captain be doing here, has there been some sort of emergency?" Chad asks, not having had any sense of any major Hollow presences today, and unable to think of any other reason a Shinigami Captain would come to the real world. Surely not to buy sake. With the crowds thinned a bit for now, he turns his head down to look at her and gets a faint tingling of recognition, perhaps having spied her out of the corner of his eye during his short-lived battle, but unable to actually place it. "Have we met?" he bluntly asks after.
Nanao can't...answer that. As irresponsible as the captain may be (or not be, in this case, though she doesn't know it), she isn't the type to complain about him. Not even if there's no one who would report back. "I see," she replies, disappointment edging over her features.
She straightens at his question, snapping back to her strict, military posture. "Not formally," she replies. "Lieutenant Ise Nanao." The one who almost nuked your @#$ while you were unconscious. She nods curtly at Chad, looking rather tiny beside a man who's probably two feet taller than she is.
"Oh, you're his lieutenant," Chad says simply, certainly not sounding the least bit impressed nor reacting to her stiffened posture as he keeps to his lazy lean. But he does reach a massive hand out and holds it before her for a handshake, something he picked up living in Mexico and rumbles, "Yasutora Sado, most folks call me Chad though. Did you want help finding him?" he politely offers, the way Nanao had been glancing on arrival telling him she hadn't a clue where to go.
Most other shinigami would refuse the help of a human. But Nanao's worried, and she witnessed this man fight valiantly. He holds her respect, now that she knows his intentions held no ill. "I would appreciate that, Chad-san," she replies, placing her hand in his after a moment of study. An unusual greeting, one that the 1st Division's lieutenant has practiced before, so she's not entirely at a loss for what to do. Her hand, though small, maintains a firm and professional grip. "I was informed that he had come here to purchase a high-quality bottle of sake. But I am unsure where such things are sold."
Chad is careful not to crush her hand in his grip and after he lets go places his hands in his pockets and starts to head back towards the bench where his books lay, relying on her to keep pace. "Sake? Well, a lot of places in town sell that. Some umm, more...clean than others," Chad finally settles on saying, thinking of some of the seedier booze stores. Scratching at his chin with a finger he comments after, "Guess he probably wouldn't go to a low-class place though, that sorta narrows it down," bending over to gather his things as he puts his books back in the pack.
Nanao's face expresses her disappointment a little further. Still, she's not undaunted by this information. Nanao never gives up! She can't let something this simple hinder her duties. She does wonder just how many stores they'll end up visiting, though. "You have my gratitude," she replies with a faint nod. Not only because he'll be cutting her searching time exponentially by showing her which shops to investigate, but because this reduces her need to walk through walls and windows to seek her quarry. That's always an uncomfortable feeling.
Her interest is immediately captured by the books. She wouldn't have figured Chad to be interested in such things, and it improves her opinion vastly. She can always appreciate a fellow book enthusiast! "What are you reading?" Nanao asks curiously, unable to help herself.
"Hmm? Oh these are just my schoolbooks. Environmental science, European history. And 'Dante's Inferno' I'm doing an essay on," he displays, offering the book to her, featuring a cloaked man on the cover walking down stairs leading into a fiery crack in the Earth. "Kinda seems odd reading about the afterlife after being there," he admits as he shoulders his backpack and starts towards the park exit for town, but not before fishing a chocolate bar out of his backpack that he starts to munch on.
It's a good thing people aren't looking in Chad's direction, or they might be a little startled to see that book floating in midair as Nanao reaches to take it. She says nothing, though her interest is avidly reflected on her face as she examines the cover, and cracks open the book to leaf through a couple of pages. "I have not read this one..." She snaps it closed, adjusting her glasses (and keeping her enthusiasm in check). Nanao hands it back, since he still requires it for his essay. Otherwise she might ask to borrow it. "You are a student, then?" she asks as she keeps a steady pace beside the boy, unaware of just how young he really is. He looks more like a college student than one who would attend high school.
Chad takes the book back, unaware of any weirdness that has passed, the longer he spends with her making it harder to recall he's the only one that can perceive her. Tucking the back into his pack he nods and says, "It's interesting, all about the levels of Hell and Heaven. Though it's pretty clear the author never met a Shinigami," he admits as they step onto the sidewalk and meander through town, Chad having an easy time of it as people seem to have a tendency to want to get out of his way. "And yeah, you didn't know? All of us that came for Rukia are in the same class in high school," he explains, peering down at the smaller woman beside him, having a momentary vision of Uryuu before he raises his eyes back up and starts scanning for the nearest liquor store.
"High school?" Nanao seems taken aback at this information, her eyes wide behind oval lenses. How remarkable...not only is he a human with extraordinary power, but he's also very young. Imagine how powerful he'll become when he matures! "I see..." Another adjustment of the glasses tones down her expression of surprise. She really /does/ reflect a lot of Uryuu's habits, doesn't she? Not that she's met that particular boy... "I am impressed. I have never met a human with abilities such as yours. How did you learn them?"
A look of longing is briefly directed towards Chad's backpack. She won't be able to come here on her days off. Only those who have been assigned to the living world can requisition a gigai, and her duties are heavily administrative in nature. But if she ever runs into Rangiku, she may make a request for a collection of books. She's certain that Momo would like to read them as well.
"I didn't learn them so much as, they just sorta happened. I was always stronger than other people but, my arm couldn't change like that till the one day me and Ichigo's sister were attacked by a Hollow and then," Chad stops himself and shrugs. "It just happened I guess. I needed to protect her so I could," seeing nothing unusual in the tale. He finally stops as they draw up to the front doors of a Spirits shop, though certainly not of the ghost variety, pushing the door open and stepping inside, reminding himself at least not to look like he's holding the door open for anyone, but rather just slow in closing it. "I never could get into sake, my grandfather used to let me drink a little bit back in Mexico, always preferred their stuff," he confesses as he starts scanning the aisles.
That's right, she remembers now. Shunsui invited Chad to drink, and he'd refused on the grounds of being a minor. He really is much younger than she thought! She quickens her steps, staying close to Chad's side so he doesn't look too odd holding the door open. "Sake is...very popular in my division," Nanao replies. And she doesn't look particularly happy about it. Already she's skirting ahead, her head turning whip-quick left and right as she scans for signs of the captain. There are a few scruffy types here, she notes, but none of them possess Shunsui's reiatsu. If he /were/ inhabiting a gigai, he probably would have expressed open delight at Nanao's entrance. She sighs. Not this store, then.
The lieutenant returns to her tour guide with brisk steps. "Most unusual," she comments, picking up on the story of his powers where they left off. "And most fortunate, for your sake and hers. Ichigo is the one you are friends with, correct?" Chad had mentioned fighting for his sake, if she recalls.
"Really? I could probably buy you a bottle if you wanted, most folks do think I'm a lot older than I look. Or even some of the stuff from my family's old country," he offers, assuming that if sake is popular in her division, than she must like it too, missing that unhappy expression of her's as they head back towards the front of the store, making a rather more serene inspection for the Captain, though no less effective as he can see over many of the displays. His voice drops to a rather more respectful tone though as he continues speaking, "Yeah. Me and Ichigo, we're more like brothers really, promised to protect each other. Though I'd fight to save just about anyone if it came down to it, but...anyway yeah, we're close friends," he finally finishes.
"Er...no...that's all right," Nanao politely refuses, feeling the need to fix her glasses again. She drinks /very/ rarely, and only a little, solely in the company of the other lady lieutenants with whom she spends her free time with. She wouldn't even do that if not for Rangiku's dogged persistence to loosen up the stiff Nanao. "It would be illegal besides. I have no wish to get you into trouble." And that much is true.
This boy...it seems she misjudged him. All of them had...except for Shunsui. That man had a gift for reading people. She can see now why he elected to leave Chad alive, and she suspects it wasn't just for interrogation purposes. How does he do that?
As they draw near the door, Nanao once more keeps close to Chad, holding her elbows tightly at her sides.
Chad opens the door and steps back out with a hrrm as he wonders which place to try next. "I've been in worse trouble than an angry shopkeep before. You saw what your Captain did to me after all," Chad points out, no sense of rancor in his voice, recognizing both of them had just been doing what they thought was right at the time. They've only walked a short distance before he asks, "You sure he's in town? I got a pretty good feel for his spiritual energy when we fought and I mean..." he trails off, not wanting to call her wrong to her face but trying to avoid a wild goose chase through liquor shops if he can.
The light fall of her footsteps comes to a pause as Nanao draws still. Her face is stoic as she looks up at Chad, though Shunsui would have noted the worry she hides. "I was only told that he would be here. But I confess, I have been unable to pick up his reiatsu. It is possible that he's concealing himself..."
But, she realizes unhappily, not entirely likely. She recognizes Shunsui's spirit perhaps better than anyone, save Ukitake and Yamamoto. "Maybe he has returned by this point. I apologize for taking up your time," she says with a stiff bow. "And I thank you for your assistance."
"It was no trouble Nanao-san. I needed the company, everyone always tells me I need to talk more," Chad replies casually and actually features the barest hint of a smile. After a quick check both ways to make sure no one is looking, he returns the bow in kind and recalling her interest in his books earlier, offers, "If you ever come back, I can show you the local library perhaps. Bring a gigai and you could even check some books out, or I could for you so long as you bring them back in time."
Nanao has to admit that the offer is very, very tempting. Were it just for herself, she could probably deny herself the opportunity, and without regret. But she would like to see Momo back to her old cheerful self again, and some new books, earth books, might be just the thing she needs. "I would like that, Chad-san," she replies. And though he may smile, Nanao doesn't. The gratitude is there, though, and if he's astute, he can probably see it. "If you wish to talk more, I would be willing to listen." She's pretty good at it, after all.
A black butterfly dances about the two figures, and there on the sidewalk, the wooden doors with paper windows suddenly appear and slide back to reveal a bright light beyond. "I must be getting back to my duties. Thank you again for your time." The lady executes a sharp turn, moving to face the doors, and she slips through. The doors seal behind her, eclipsing her silhouette as she walks away, and disappear. The butterfly ascends to the blue skies above.