Sharp pencils and lined paper,

Here's the thing: Shunsui should have known better. He's seen the way Nanao had cared, from when he woke up in the Fourth after surgery to find her sitting by his bedside, to earlier today, when she settled a pup named Shinrai (trust? Wow) on her hip like one would settle an infant. He should have guessed that there would have been lingering fears from being ordered to stay behind and watch what very nearly turned into a massacre.

But he didn't. And from the way she shattered tonight, reiatsu nearly an equal to a Captain's in sheer power? That's been buiding up for a while. If there were obvious signs, he let his affection for her blind him to them - or, perhaps, she was too experienced at hiding them. His thoughts drift back to a week ago, when she'd fallen asleep at the table after talking through everything that Johto had meant to her.

Nanao had only been asleep for an hour, at most, before she'd let out a blood-curdling scream and awoke from what must have been a hell of a nightmare. She'd reassured him that it had been of Aizen, and he'd accepted it whole-sale. Katen Kyokotsu had woken him more than once during his recovery, often just before he would have unconsciously released his own reiatsu.

But that was then, and this - this was now. As Hitsugaya descends the steps to try and comfort the rapidly growing flock of Pokemon, Shunsui extends a hand to his Lieutenant. She accepts, all but falling into his arms. She trembles constantly, her skin clammy to the touch. Shunsui hums a tune he learned long ago, and lets Nanao burrow against his neck.

How had he managed to miss the signs? For kami's sake, he carries her true zanpakutou deep within his own soul (not that he'll be telling her that just yet), he should have been able to sense something. Or had he blinded that part of himself too well, knowing full well that it infringed on her very obvious desire for privacy.

In the end, though... It didn't matter. The only thing he can do now is make amends,

------

It's a long while before everyone is willing to come back to the house - after all, that level of spiritual power is pretty rare, and they'd just fought against opponents at that level. That said, Nanao didn't look anything like a threat, given how she's curled in Shunsui's lap. Her skin is wan, features haggard. She waits until everyone is within earshot, before speaking.

"There's something I have to warn you about... It's the reason I walk with a limp, when I never had one before." Hitsugaya immediately turns tail and walks back down the beach - Hinamori reaches out for him, but Nanao forestalls any voiced concern with a hand wave. "Toushiro knows how it happened, because he was there. If he doesn't want to hear it again, I can't blame him."

Hana scurries around their ankles, performs a cursory sniffcheck - yes, okay, Nanao-mama isn't bleeding - and then trots inside. Ukitake folds himself down onto the decking, a concerned furrow in his brow.

"I had assumed - wrongly - that you'd gained the majority of your scars from raising your team.' Hanatarou reappears, blanket held tightly in her mouth. Shunsui takes it and tucks it carefully around both himself and Nanao. The furret's urge to comfort her trainer now satisfied, she now liberates the couch of its cushions and brings them out for the other humans.